West Brom vs. Chelsea
Venue: The Hawthorns
Kick off: 4PM
West Bromwich Albion play host to Chelsea on Saturday afternoon having failed to win a game in any competition since August 22, a period which has included 10 matches.
Chelsea make the trip to The Hawthorns on the back of a 1-0 victory over Manchester United, but head coach Antonio Conte will know that the Blues must put a run of wins together in order to have a chance of defending their Premier League crown.
After the club’s performance in the 1-0 defeat at Huddersfield Town, many West Brom supporters expected Tony Pulis to be sacked during the international break but the head coach will be in the dugout for the visit of the champions.
Pulis, himself, has acknowledged that calls for his exit are justified after no league win being registered since the second weekend of the season and just 12 points being recorded from their last 20 games in the Premier League.
The Baggies’ form is befitting of a team who face a fight to remain in the top flight but as it stands, work done earlier in the campaign keeps the West Midlands outfit out of the relegation zone by a point.
West Brom have won just three of their last dozen matches in the Premier League, and that return must improve sooner rather than later if the club’s fans are not to fully turn on their club.
Much has also been made of Conte’s future at Chelsea, but witnessing his side battle their way to a 1-0 win over United before the international break may just help the Italian turn the corner at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are nine points off the pace in the Premier League, but the response to a 3-0 defeat to Roma in the Champions League suggests that the squad are still pulling in the right direction.
Further forward, Alvaro Morata also appears to have got his form back, with his decisive header against Jose Mourinho’s men ending a run of over 400 minutes without a goal.
Today’s trip to West Brom marks the start of a testing period for Chelsea, with trips to Qarabag and Liverpool also to come in the next seven days, but Conte must find a way of rotating his players while still picking up results which could ultimately make or break their season.
West Brom possible XI: Foster, Nyom, Evans, Hegazi, Gibbs, Barry, Livermore, Krychowiak, Phillips, Rodriguez, Rondon.
Chelsea possible XI: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill, Zappacosta, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso, Fabregas, Hazard, Morata.
