Chelsea have had a week break since their thumping at the hands of Watford, so how will they get on at home to West Brom? Alan Pardew takes his side to the Bridge on Monday night in a game which the champions need to win, but it isn’t going to be easy. Having conceded seven goals to Watford and Bournemouth in recent games, Antonio Conte’s men are really struggling. They need to improve, especially with both Tottenham and Arsenal chasing them for fourth place. While the Italian is currently safe in his position as manager, he needs to show signs of turning things around or else the Blues could turn to an alternative.
Will Conte manage to shake things up at the Bridge this week, or are his side set to drop out of the Champions League spots? West Brom have to be respected, given that they make this trip having recently won at Anfield to put Liverpool out of the cup. The Baggies are starting to turn a corner under Pardew, and taking on the Blues could provide a welcome boost for the strugglers. The champions need to be on their toes heading in to Monday’s meeting, especially given how lethargic and uninterested they looked in the game a week ago.
Team News: Can Giroud Start Lift The Blues?
Chelsea’s hopes of improving on their poor form have taken a blow on the injury front, with a few problems for Conte to deal with. Tiemoue Bakayoko is obviously absent following his red at Watford, while Andreas Christensen is out through injury. On top of that, Alvaro Morata, Ross Barkley and Pedro are all considered to be doubts, while Marcos Alonso faces a late race to get fit in time for this clash. Despite that and the recent results, Conte isn’t expected to make any significant changes to the formation. In brighter news, Olivier Giroud looks set for a first start for his new side and will provide another option.
Former Blue Daniel Sturridge should feature for the Baggies, who are likely to start with him and Jay Rodriguez in attack. West Brom are likely to use a three man defence in this one, as they seem sure to set up in a 3-5-2 system. However, they have significant issues at the back too, with Jonny Evans, Nacer Chadli and Grzegorz Krychowiak all missing out in this trip to the capital.
West Brom Form
The Baggies currently sit bottom of the Premier League table, making them perfect opposition for a side like Chelsea right now. The Blues may be struggling in their last couple of fixtures, but they’ll be expecting to prove themselves against the worst side in the league at the moment. The visitors are in an awful shape on their travels, and they come into this game having suffered eight away defeats already this season.
Only Stoke have fewer away points than West Brom this season, with the Baggies claiming just two points from their last six trips in the Premier League. That form points to them dropping down into the Championship, and you’d imagine that the champions will have more than enough quality to deal with them. Not only have the away side played six of the bottom eight on their travels and lost every game, but they have just one point from five meetings with the top four this term.
Chelsea v West Brom Head to Head
The Blues have won their last three clashes with West Brom, a run which includes their victory in May which sealed the league title. A 4-0 victory back in November was one of the champions’ most impressive results this term. Having won four of the last six meetings between the pair at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will be expected to come out on top once again.
- West Brom 0-4 Chelsea, Nov 2017
- West Brom 0-1 Chelsea, May 2017
- Chelsea 1-0 West Brom, Dec 2016
- Chelsea 2-2 West Brom, Jan 2016
- West Brom 2-3 Chelsea, Aug 2015
Betting Tips
- Chelsea and Over 2.5 Goals – evens with Coral
- Both teams to score – 21/20 with Ladbrokes
Chelsea may be struggling of late, but that hasn’t really affected their odds in this one. The Blues are still as short as 1/3 with BetVictor to take the points on Monday night. Meanwhile, you can back the draw in this game at 4/1 with Betfair, while the Baggies are a long odds 9/1 shot with Betfred to add to Chelsea’s misery. Going by recent form, you’d have to say that the champions are far too short in the betting for this game, and we’ve decided to look elsewhere for our bets on Monday’s encounter.
The champions have struggled of late, although this game does seem to be the perfect time for them to return to form. They are going up against a side with an awful away record, while the Blues have dominated the recent meetings between the pair. We do expect a high scoring game, as we don’t really have a huge amount of faith in the Chelsea defence right now. They look a little shaky without Christensen, while David Luiz is set to start in his place despite some awful recent form. With the Baggies starting with two up front, that’s something they’ll be out to exploit.
We expect to see West Brom making this into an open game, given their likely set-up. We expect both sides to find the net, given how many goals the champions have been conceding, so we’re backing both teams to score at very tempting odds of 21/20 with Ladbrokes. We’re also backing the Blues to edge a high scoring game this weekend, given that West Brom currently sit bottom of the Premier League table. We’re going for a Chelsea victory and over 2.5 goals to be scored, which can be backed at evens with Coral.