Chelsea and West Brom — two sides who have lost their last two games — will battle it out tomorrow at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is under quite a bit of pressure as the Blues have now dropped out of the top four and need to win to ensure they stay above Tottenham Hotspur, the team in form right now.
Although Conte’s side stayed in the game against Watford and managed to equalise, a late rally by the Hornets saw Chelsea concede three in the last 10 minutes as their defence simply fell apart. Although they played a majority of the game with 10 men following Tiemoue Bakayoko’s sending off, a better resolve was expected from them after equalising.
The game against West Brom won’t be easy as the Baggies have nothing to lose and will throw the kitchens sink at it to get a goal and then perhaps defend the lead. Pardew’s men shocked Liverpool a few weeks ago in the FA Cup and will look to do the same against Chelsea.
Historically, the fixture has favoured Chelsea as they’ve lost just once against the Baggies in their last 10 meetings. The last time West Brom beat the Londoners was in 2015.
Team news
Conte is expected to start with Cesc Fabregas now that Bakayoko is suspended. Alvaro Morata is still out injured, so we could see Olivier Giroud getting his first start for the club in the Premier League. The Frenchman’s combination play with Hazard and Willian will be intriguing to watch.
Andreas Christensen is still a doubt for the game, so we could see the trio of Cahill, Luiz and Azpilicueta continuing at the back. Emerson Palmieri is in line to get his first start as well.
West Brom have a few injury issue in the midfield as the trio of Jake Livermore, Grzegorz Krychowiak and James Morrison are out. Kiran Gibbs and Jonny Evans won’t be featuring in the Baggies backline. Jay Rodriguez, however, will still be available for selection despite the FA’s charge for allegedly racially abusing Gaetan Bong.
Probable line-ups
Chelsea playing XI: Courtois; Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta; Kanté, Fabregas, Palmieri, Hazard, Willian, Moses; Giroud
West Brom probable XI: Foster; Nyom, Hegazi, McAuley, Dawson; Yacob, Barry, Brunt, Burke; Rondon Sturridge
Odds
Chelsea: 2/5
Draw: 18/5
Crystal Palace: 15/2