Chelsea
will be hoping to give their fans plenty to shout about when they host West
Brom in their first home game since Jose Mourinho’s jibe about the lack of
atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues boss said it felt like his side had been "playing in an empty
stadium" during their win over Queens Park Rangers earlier this month.
Chelsea have since drawn away at Maribor in the Champions League and beaten
Liverpool at Anfield, and can extend their lead at the top of the Premier
League to seven points with victory over West Brom.
But the Baggies have proved a tricky test for the Blues in recent seasons
and have only lost one of their last five meetings. In fact, on their last
visit to Stamford Bridge they came within seconds of grabbing a 2-1 win
before Eden Hazard’s contentious injury-time penalty rescued a point for the
west London club.
Opta stats
Top scorers Chelsea have netted with 23% of their shots, the best conversion
rate in the Premier League.
Jose Mourinho’s side have recovered the most points from losing positions of
any team in the Premier League (9).
West Brom have won just three of their last 14 Premier League games (W3 D4
L7).
Chelsea, though, are unbeaten this campaign and look well on track to win a
fourth Premier League title, while West Brom’s recent form has been patchy.
They have two wins and two defeats in their last five matches, including a
2-0 home loss to Newcastle United a fortnight ago.
Team news
Chelsea look to have come through the international break relatively
unscathed, giving manager Jose Mourinho a wealth of options to choose from.
Diego Costa and Andre Schurrle are both “totally recovered” from the
respective injury and illness that kept them out of action for their
countries. Cesc Fabregas, who withdrew from the Spain squad along with Costa
due to a thigh injury, has been training and is expected to feature against
the Baggies.
Ramires is also available as he continues to recover from a groin injury,
but Nathan Ake is out for a few weeks with a hamstring problem.
"Nathan Ake is injured, he hurt his hamstring with the (Dutch) national team
and will be out for a few weeks," said Mourinho. "Diego Costa is totally
recovered, the same as Schurrle. Fabregas trained with the team today, but
it was a very simple session. We will make a decision and hopefully he can
play as it’s an important game.
"Ramires can play, it's a bit like the Liverpool game in that he’s not in
very good condition, but he’s improving so he can play."
Jon Obi Mikel will be assessed after returning later than the rest of the
squad due to Africa Cup of Nations qualifying duty.
West Brom manager Alan Irvine confirmed that defender Sebastien Pocognoli is
a doubt for the match after going off with a hamstring injury at half-time
against Newcastle. Jonas Olsson (Achilles) will not feature, but Saido
Berahino and Ben Foster should be fresh after not playing while on duty with
England.
"I was disappointed for both boys that they didn't figure but not too
disappointed from a selfish point of view,” added Irvine. “Not least as I
knew what was around the corner in terms of the demands of the game at
Chelsea. I was happy our players were less likely to come back injured and
more likely to come back and be ready to compete."
PAUL MERSON’S PREDICTION: 3-0
"A home win’s a certainty in this one. I watched West Brom the other week
and they were a disappointment against Newcastle, who they lost 2-0 at home
to. If they play anywhere near like that it will be four or five because we
know about the quality that Chelsea have going forward.
"I am going to go for a 3-0 win for Chelsea - it will be a walk in the
park."
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