Three West Brom questions to emerge this week - does Nat Phillips need to stay benched?

West Bromwich Albion suffered more derby disappointment over the weekend.

And Nat Phillips was once more at the centre of contention.

The centre-back made a costly error in the 1-0 defeat to rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers before the international break.

And he gave away the penalty from which August Priske scored the penalty for Birmingham City to take all three points at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

West Brom bounced back in midweek with a comeback 2-1 win at Wrexham, Isaac Price and Aune Heggebo cancelling out Kieffer Moore's opener.

After another hectic period, West Brom News looks at three questions to have emerged from the past week at The Hawthorns.

Should Nat Phillips stay benched for West Brom?

Phillips was judged to have dragged down Priske, which resulted in the Danish attacker scoring the only goal of the game in the Birmingham setback.

James Morrison, understandably, came to the defence of his centre-back after the defeat at The Hawthorns.

But with Chris Mepham getting the nod against Wrexham, should it be the case that Phillips continues to take a watching brief from the bench?

There are plenty of games for Phillips to redeem himself this season, but two high-profile moments leading to defeats in quick succession means he is under the spotlight.

Indeed, he did come off the bench against Wrexham and helped see out the win, but he may have a battle on his hands after his high-profile mistakes.

Are West Brom short of attacking options?

One thing that has been glaring in recent games is a lack of goal threat from Albion.

West Brom's recruitment in the close season was extensive, but right now they just look a little devoid of creativity and pace.

That looks especially evident out wide, with the Baggies lacking real winger options right now.

Mikey Johnston's prolong absence has naturally impacted things too, but would more depth in those positions have been advisable?

They did find a way to fight back against Wrexham, but some more attacking options would be welcome you feel.

What is a realistic expectation for West Brom?

The Baggies' strong start to the campaign maybe shifted expectation levels at The Hawthorns.

But, right now are things just levelling out a little at Albion?

It was only five months ago that Morrison oversaw a rescue job to maintain the Baggies' presence in the second tier.

The Championship extending the play-offs to eight teams means there are more opportunities.

Is a play-off spot a genuine target, though? Or is it still about incremental progression?

The past two games just sort of highlight how difficult it is to judge Albion right now.

Against Birmingham, it was another game where West Brom struggled to carry a goal-threat.

However, against Wrexham they displayed their fighting ability to win a game that had looked like slipping away.

They are right in the mix up at the top at the minute, but how do we realistically judge success this term?