Albion will be top of the lead at Christmas despite being held to a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns against an impressive Brentford side.
Sam Johnstone had already made two good saves before Bees’ captain Henrik Dalsgaard headed the opener in the 43th minute from a corner.
But Albion again came back from a goal down when Darnell Furlong scored an almost identical goal for the Baggies from a Matt Phillips corner minutes later.
The Baggies got to grips with the game after the break and increased the tempo to beat Brentford’s pressing approach.
Slaven Bilic again called upon Charlie Austin to go and find a winner for Albion but his late strike was rightfully chalked off for offside.
Fulham’s victory over second-placed Leeds United saw Albion extend a three point lead over their nearest rivals and 12 points clear over Scott Parker’s side in third. The hard-earned draw against Brentford also means the Baggies are the first to reach 50 points in the Championship this season.