West Bromwich Albion will be looking to get off the mark with their first Premier League points of the season when they take on Chelsea at The Hawthorns on Saturday.
The Baggies have lost their first two games back in the top flight and were knocked out of the EFL Cup in midweek, whereas Chelsea have won and lost their opening two league games.
Match preview
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Frank Lampard admitted that last week's 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool was a "reality check" for his side, showing how far Chelsea still have to go to challenge for the title.
The Blues continued their spending spree on Thursday by bringing in Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who will likely replace calamity keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga between the sticks.
It is now a case of Lampard fitting his new recruits into the side, with Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva making their debuts in the win over Barnsley and fellow newbie Kai Havertz scoring a hat-trick.
That midweek EFL Cup victory gave Chelsea a chance to really flex their muscles, but three points are needed this weekend if they are to put the Liverpool loss behind them.
Lampard's men, who started the season with a 3-1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion, have a good record against the Baggies down the years, winning each of their last three away games.
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Albion have not exactly made a fast start to the season, losing 3-0 to Leicester City and 5-2 to Everton, as well as being knocked out of the EFL Cup on penalties by Brentford.
Taking their last top-flight campaign into the equation, West Brom have won just 11 points from the last 48 available, with all of these points being earned in a six-game spell.
The eight goals Albion have conceded so far this term is the most of any Premier League side, and the most they have ever shipped in the first two games of a league campaign.
Facing the likes of Havertz, Timo Werner and co. this weekend is the last thing Slaven Bilic will want, then, with his side already rooted to the foot of the division.
The good news for West Brom is that there is still plenty of time to turn things around. Another heavy loss here, though, and the pressure will already be on head coach Bilic.
West Bromwich Albion Premier League form: LL
West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions): LLL
Chelsea Premier League form: WL
Chelsea form (all competitions): WLW
Team News
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Hakim Ziyech has still yet to make his debut for Chelsea because of an injury sustained in pre-season, while Christian Pulisic remains doubtful.
The good news for Lampard is that Silva came through his debut unscathed and is in line to make his Premier League bow, and that could also be the case for new arrival Mendy.
However, Mendy has to pass coronavirus medical checks before he can be considered for selection, so Willy Caballero may get the nod for this one.
Chilwell got an assist to his name on his first appearance in a Chelsea shirt and, fitness depending, could retain his place at left-back at The Hawthorns.
As for the hosts, Kieran Gibbs is suspended following his red card against Everton and is expected to be replaced at left-back by Conor Townsend.
Hal Robson-Kanu scored twice in West Brom's 2-2 draw with Brentford but was replaced late on due to what Bilic described as "tightness", rendering him doubtful for this match.
Kamil Grosicki, Ahmed Hegazi and Kenneth Zohore are also unlikely to play any part for the Baggies because of injury problems.
It could be an emotional first game back in the Premier League for Chelsea legend Branislav Ivanovic, who joined Albion on a short-term deal this week.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Furlong, Ajayi, Ivanovic, O'Shea, Townsend; Pereira, Sawyers, Livermore, Diangana; Robinson
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Caballero; James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Kante, Kovacic; Mount, Havertz, Werner; Abraham
We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-3 Chelsea
Chelsea have lost three of their last seven away Premier League games at newly-promoted sides, including their most recent such clash at Sheffield United in July last season.
That is not the best of returns, and the Blues did taste defeat in their last league outing, but we cannot see past a comfortable away victory on Saturday.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:dataVideo prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Daniel Lewis
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea win with a probability of 44.03%. A win for West Bromwich Albion had a probability of 32.23% and a draw had a probability of 23.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.75%) and 0-2 (6.48%). The likeliest West Bromwich Albion win was 2-1 (7.59%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.84%). The actual scoreline of 3-3 was predicted with a 1.7% likelihood.
