Chelsea will look to pile on the pressure on the top three of the Premier League, when they pay a visit to the Hawthorns to take on West Bromwich Albion, on Saturday.
The Blues currently sit fourth in the league table, following their impressive 1-0 win over Manchester United before the international break. The current league title holders are just a point adrift of second-placed United and third-placed Tottenham Hotspur and manager Antonio Conte will be looking to get ahead of the duo with three points on Saturday, especially given that Spurs play Arsenal in the North London derby.
West Brom, on the other hand, are struggling severely and find themselves sliding down towards the relegation zone. The Baggies currently sit in the 16th place in the table, with just 10 points on the board – just one more than eighteenth placed West Ham United. There has been an outcry from the club supporters for the ousting of manager Tony Pulis, owing to the dour style of play combined with the poor results. And the Welshman will be hoping to ease some pressure with a solid display against the reigning champions.
The Blues have a clear upper hand when it comes to head to head record between the two sides, having won 60 of the 137 encounters between the two clubs, while the Baggies have trumped in 42 of these fixtures, with 35 ending in a stalemate. Last season, both the home and away rounds of fixtures in the Premier League between the two sides ended in 1-0 wins in favour of Chelsea.
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Team News
West Bromwich Albion
Craig Dawson in action against Watford (Getty)The Baggies will be without the services of defender Craig Dawson and midfielder James Morrison, both of whom are ruled out until the next month due to a knee injury and Achilles injury respectively. Winger Nacer Chadli who hasn’t been involved this term for the Baggies due to fitness issues could be in contention for a spot on the bench, while summer signing Oliver Burke too stands a chance of getting a look in.
Chelsea
Midfielder bakayoko is a doubt to feature, after picking up a knock during training, while star attacker Eden Hazard too could miss out as well, along with David Luiz who is recovering from a knee injury. Michy Batshuayi and Victor Moses remain sidelined for Conte.
Probable Playing XIs
West Bromwich Albion (3-5-2): Ben Foster; Gareth McAuley, Ahmed Hegazy, Jonny Evans; Allan Nyom, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore, Kieran Gibbs; Salomon Rondon, Jay Rodriguez;
Chelsea (3-4-2-1):
Azpilicueta in action against Manchester United (Getty)Thibalt cutious; Cesar Azpilicueta, Christense, Gary Cahill; Davide Zappacosta, N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Alvaro Morata;Key Stats
- Chelsea have won six of their last seven Premier League games on the road.
- The Baggies have lost all their previous three Premier League encounters – all of which have been a single-goal margin.
- West Brom’s last win in the league this season, came way back in August when they defeated Bournemouth and Burnley in the first two weekends. Those remain the club’s only victories in their last 20 games.
- Chelsea have scored 19 goals so far in the league campaign – that is the lowest tally among the current top six in the Premier League table.
- West Bromwich Albion have won just once in their last nine fixtures against Chelsea in the Premier League – a 3-0 win at the Hawthorns back in May 2015, when the Blues went on to win the league title.
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