Chelsea vs. West Brom
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: 12:30PM
Chelsea will be looking to strengthen their grip on fourth position in the Premier League table when they resume their domestic campaign at home to West Bromwich Albion this afternoon.
The Blues entered the international break off the back of a 2-0 win over Sheffield United in the FA Cup, while West Brom, who remain rooted inside the relegation zone, suffered a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in the league last time out.
Chelsea’s form under Thomas Tuchel has been exceptional, with the capital giants winning 10 and drawing four of their 14 matches since the German replaced Frank Lampard as head coach at the end of January.
The Blues have progressed to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they will face Manchester City, in addition to securing a spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with Porto their opponents.
Chelsea have also risen into fourth spot in the Premier League table, two points clear of fifth-placed West Ham United, but the race for the Champions League positions is still very much open, with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Everton all in the argument at this stage of the season.
The capital side have beaten Atletico Madrid and Sheffield United 2-0 in their last two matches in the Champions League and FA Cup respectively, meaning that they have not been in league action since drawing 0-0 with Leeds United on March 13.
Tuchel’s side have the third-best home record in the Premier League this season, but they have only actually won seven of their 14 league matches at Stamford Bridge and will certainly be wary of suffering a hangover from the international break.
West Brom are also in desperate need of the points this weekend but for very different reasons, with the Baggies currently battling for their lives at the bottom of the division.
A return of 18 points from 29 matches has left Sam Allardyce’s side in 19th position in the table, some 10 points from the safety of 17th spot, and it is difficult to see the strugglers escaping the bottom three.
The Baggies have only won three times in the Premier League this term, which is the worst record in the division, with even basement side Sheffield United posting four victories in 29 outings.
Allardyce’s team have taken four points from their last four matches, which is far from a disastrous return, but they suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat to Palace before the international break and now face trips to top-four hopefuls Chelsea and Leicester City in two of their next three matches.
West Brom have never won at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, but they held the Blues to a 3-3 draw at the Hawthorns earlier this season, with the capital side needing a 90th-minute leveller from Tammy Abraham to secure a share of the spoils.
Chelsea possible XI: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Chilwell, Pulisic, Werner, Havertz.
West Brom XI: Johnstone, Furlong, O’Shea, Bartley, Townsend, Phillips, Livermore, Yokuslu, Maitland-Niles, Pereira, Diagne.
