West Brom v Chelsea: Premier League predictions & free tips

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for West Brom v Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Chelsea to win & over 3.5 goals
2pts 9-4 Betway, Sky Bet

Team news

West Brom
Kamil Grosicki, Ahmed Hegazy and Kenneth Zohore are unlikely to feature but new signing Branislav Ivanovic could face his former club. Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher is ineligible and Kieran Gibbs is suspended.

Chelsea
Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech are doubts but Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell are pushing for their first league starts. New goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is not available but Andreas Christensen returns after serving a one-match ban in the EFL Cup.

Match preview

The Chelsea reigns of Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo were ended by defeats at West Brom but Frank Lampard should not be too concerned about Saturday's trip to The Hawthorns.

The club's record goalscorer has plenty of credit in the bank with Blues fans and owner Roman Abramovich's summer spending spree was a major vote of confidence in Lampard.

Finishing in the Premier League's top four and reaching the FA Cup final in 2019-20 represented a decent first season at Stamford Bridge for the club legend and the arrivals of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy are a serious statement of intent.

While Lampard works out how to cram all those expensive new signings into the starting 11, his former West Ham teammate Slaven Bilic has more pressing worries to address.

The West Brom boss saw his side keep pace with Leeds for much of last season's Sky Bet Championship title race before a late slump saw them scramble over the line in second place.

The Baggies signed attacking loan stars Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana and Callum Robinson on a permanent basis in the summer but their defence has struggled with the step up to the Premier League.

The 3-0 home defeat to Leicester could have been even worse but for some smart saves from goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and they lost 5-2 at Everton having taken an early lead through Diangana.

Left-back Kieran Gibbs and manager Bilic were both shown red cards at Goodison Park and after the game the Baggies boss bemoaned the "naivety" of his team.

That does not bode well for a clash with a Chelsea side loaded with attacking threat. The Blues averaged more than two goals per game away from home in the league last season and started 2020-21 with a 3-1 win at Brighton that showcased their quality going forwards and their shakiness at the back.

A 2-0 home defeat to champions Liverpool followed, although the game was goalless when defender Andreas Christensen was sent off just before half-time, but Chelsea's forwards will be too good for plenty of opponents this season.

They warmed up for the trip to West Brom with a 6-0 EFL Cup win over Championship side Barnsley, with Germany international Havertz scoring a hat-trick, and another entertaining victory could be on the cards at The Hawthorns.

Key stat

Chelsea's last eight away league games have produced 36 goals.

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