Chelsea are out to get their English Premier League campaign straight back on track when they play West Brom at The Hawthorns on Saturday. Kick off is at 18:30 SAST.
Frank Lampard’s side proved no match for reigning champions Liverpool last weekend, with a Sadio Mane brace condemning the hosts to a first defeat of the new EPL season at Stamford Bridge.
It put a dampener on talk of Chelsea as potential champions this time around, despite the big money transfer signings of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner et al.
So the London side will look back to their opening weekend victory at Brighton for inspiration on the road as they head to the West Midlands.
Kepa Arrizabalaga could see himself dropped in goal following his latest dodgy performance against the Reds, with Willy Cabellero or new signing Edouard Mendy poised to take the gloves.
New signings Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva could both make their Premier League debuts at the back for the Blues.
West Brom have endured a torrid start to life back in the Premier League following their promotion from the Championship.
Kieran Gibbs was sent off as the Baggies collapsed to a 5-2 loss at Everton last time out, with boss Slaven Bilic also seeing red for berating referee Mike Dean after the half time whistle.
It was a result that left the Black Country side bottom of the early standings following their 3-0 home loss to Leicester in the opening round of EPL fixtures.
While Gibbs is banned, the Baggies could give a league debut to veteran Branislav Ivanovic in defence against his former club.
?West Brom vs Chelsea: Prediction
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
West Brom vs Chelsea: Line-up predictions
Probable West Brom Starting XI: Sam Johnstone, Darnell Furlong, Semi Ajayi, Branislav Ivanovic, Dara O?Shea, Conor Townsend, Matheus Pereira, Romaine Sawyers, Jake Livermore, Grady Diangana, Callum Robinson.
Probable Chelsea Starting XI: Willy Caballero, Reece James, Kurt Zouma, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, N?Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Tammy Abraham, Timo Werner.?