West Brom vs Chelsea FC: Premier League prediction, TV channel, live stream, team news, time, h2h, odds
Chelsea will be aiming to bounce back from their first defeat of the new Premier League season with a trip to West Brom today.
Frank Lampard went on a summer spending spree to bolster his squad for a potential title challenge this term, but the Blues were brought back down to earth as Liverpool won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
Chelsea sealed a morale-boosting 6-0 Carabao Cup victory over Barnsley in midweek, with Kai Havertz scoring a hat-trick in west London.
The Blues are now back in League action at The Hawthorns on Saturday evening, and face a Baggies side who are bottom of the table having conceded eight goals in their opening two matches.
Date, time and venue
West Brom vs Chelsea is scheduled for a 5:30pm BST kick-off today.
This match will be played behind closed doors at The Hawthorns with no fans due to be present due to government guidelines regarding coronavirus.
How to watch
TV channel: The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Premier League and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
Team news
The key decision facing Lampard is whether to throw new goalkeeper Edouard Mendy straight into his starting XI. Kepa Arrizabalaga will almost certainly not play, so it is likely to be a straight call between Mendy and Willy Caballero.
Andreas Christensen is back from suspension, but Lampard may elect not to start the Dane after his red card against Liverpool - and that could mean a start for Thiago Silva.
Christian Pulisic could be back from a thigh injury, though Hakim Ziyech and Billy Gilmour (both knee) remain sidelined.
As for the Baggies, Kieran Gibbs is suspended while Conor Gallagher and Kenneth Zohore are out injured.
Ahmed Hegazi, Kamil Grosicki and Hal Robson-Kanu are on the comeback trail but will need fitness tests.
Prediction: West Brom 1-3 Chelsea
The Blues need time to gel with all their new signings, but West Brom are in disarray at the moment and the visitors should make light work of Bilic's side - and don't bet against it being a rout.
Alan Smith's weekend briefing
As delighted as Frank Lampard will be with the 6-0 demolition of Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, he has already overseen this kind of form before, when Chelsea take teams apart before losing focus.
After spending so much money during the summer, that part of the team’s character has clearly got to change, otherwise Chelsea will continue to veer between potent and porous.
Thiago Silva has been brought in for this precise reason and his influence in the dressing room has already been felt.
Though he doesn’t speak much English yet, the Brazilian’s high standards should speak for themselves.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Chelsea dominate Premier League meetings between the clubs, winning 18 of 24 matches.
West Brom have won three and drawn another three against the Blues, but have lost the last four and failed to score in any of them.
Betting odds and tips
West Brom to win: 7/1
Chelsea to win: 2/5
Draw: 4/1
Odds courtesy of Betfair Exchange. Click here to find out more.
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