It’s back to business this weekend following the outburst of Chelsea interim boss Rafa Benitez as his side welcomes West Brom to Stamford Bridge for a 3pm kick-off.
Chelsea sit uncomfortably in fourth place with Arsenal breathing down their neck and the Blues will see their next three fixtures (West Brom, Fulham and West Ham) as a chance to gain some much-needed momentum.
But West Brom have been a real banana skin for Chelsea in recent times, winning the last two times these sides met.
Interestingly on both those occasions a Chelsea manager was sacked and a loss here may well see a trigger-happy Roman Abramovic end the Spaniard’s tenure.
FORM
The Baggies have rediscovered some of their early league form with back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this year. A hard-fought win at home to Sunderland last week followed a late show at Anfield which saw them stun Liverpool 2-0.
It’s been a mixed bag for Chelsea recently but last week’s 2-0 defeat to Man City made it two defeats in three. Throw in the draw against Reading at the end of January and it makes for tough reading for Chelsea fans.
TEAMS
Chelsea team : Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Cole; Ramires, Lampard; Oscar, Mata, Hazard; Ba
West Brom Team: Foster, Reid, Ridgewell, McAuley, Olsson, Mulumbu, Morrison, Yacob, Dorrans, Long, Fortune.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ben Foster in the West Brom goal is in a good run of form and had a masterclass against Liverpool.
He’ll need to have his lucky gloves on again today with the likes of Juan Mata and Eden Hazard looking to shoot from range.
Also, Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will be gunning for his 200th club goal.
BETTING NEWS
At 15/2 there’s real value with West Brom but without Lukaku the Baggies will struggle for goals. Chelsea have too much to play for to let this one slip.
