Chelsea will be looking to strengthen their grip on fourth position in the Premier League table when they resume their domestic campaign at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
The Blues entered the international break off the back of a 2-0 win over Sheffield United in the FA Cup, while West Brom, who remain rooted inside the relegation zone, suffered a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in the league last time out.
Match preview
© Reuters
Chelsea's form under Thomas Tuchel has been exceptional, with the capital giants winning 10 and drawing four of their 14 matches since the German replaced Frank Lampard as head coach at the end of January.
The Blues have progressed to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they will face Manchester City, in addition to securing a spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with Porto their opponents.
Chelsea have also risen into fourth spot in the Premier League table, two points clear of fifth-placed West Ham United, but the race for the Champions League positions is still very much open, with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Everton all in the argument at this stage of the season.
The capital side have beaten Atletico Madrid and Sheffield United 2-0 in their last two matches in the Champions League and FA Cup respectively, meaning that they have not been in league action since drawing 0-0 with Leeds United on March 13.
Tuchel's side have the third-best home record in the Premier League this season, but they have only actually won seven of their 14 league matches at Stamford Bridge and will certainly be wary of suffering a hangover from the international break.
© Reuters
West Brom are also in desperate need of the points this weekend but for very different reasons, with the Baggies currently battling for their lives at the bottom of the division.
A return of 18 points from 29 matches has left Sam Allardyce's side in 19th position in the table, some 10 points from the safety of 17th spot, and it is difficult to see the strugglers escaping the bottom three.
The Baggies have only won three times in the Premier League this term, which is the worst record in the division, with even basement side Sheffield United posting four victories in 29 outings.
Allardyce's team have taken four points from their last four matches, which is far from a disastrous return, but they suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat to Palace before the international break and now face trips to top-four hopefuls Chelsea and Leicester City in two of their next three matches.
West Brom have never won at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, but they held the Blues to a 3-3 draw at the Hawthorns earlier this season, with the capital side needing a 90th-minute leveller from Tammy Abraham to secure a share of the spoils.
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Chelsea are expected to be boosted by the return of Abraham and Thiago Silva for this weekend's contest, with both players taking part in training during the international break.
Callum Hudson-Odoi will also be available despite suffering a shoulder injury on international duty, but N'Golo Kante picked up a hamstring problem while representing France during the recent break, and the midfielder will not be risked ahead of the clash with Porto.
Edouard Mendy had dental surgery last week but should be cleared to start between the sticks, while Jorginho is expected to overcome a knee complaint to feature in the middle of the park.
Mason Mount had been a doubt to play for England against Poland on Wednesday, but the attacker came through the match unscathed; Tuchel could now decide to rest the attacker ahead of the Porto clash, with Christian Pulisic potentially starting alongside Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
As for West Brom, Allardyce has a full squad to choose from on Saturday aside from Conor Gallagher, who will be unable to face his parent club, meaning that Jake Livermore could feature in midfield.
Hal Robson-Kanu, Robert Snodgrass and Karlan Grant are options for change in the final third, while Grady Diangana is now available following a recent injury.
Robson-Kanu had been a doubt after being sent home early from Wales duty for breaking a curfew in their hotel, but the attacker has since returned a negative coronavirus test and trained on Thursday.
The Baggies should again line up in a 4-5-1 formation, with Matheus Pereira and Matt Phillips providing support to lone striker Mbaye Diagne, who has scored once since his arrival in January.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Chilwell; Pulisic, Werner, Havertz
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Furlong, O'Shea, Bartley, Townsend; Phillips, Livermore, Yokuslu, Maitland-Niles, Pereira; Diagne
We say: Chelsea 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
West Brom have not conceded more than once in a league match since the start of February, and we are not expecting a heavy home victory on Saturday. The Blues should have more than enough to pick up all three points, though, with Tuchel looking for his side to cement their spot in the top four.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Matt Law
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 76.55%. A draw had a probability of 15.6% and a win for West Bromwich Albion had a probability of 7.82%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea win was 2-0 with a probability of 14.26%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.07%) and 3-0 (11.23%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.38%), while for a West Bromwich Albion win it was 0-1 (3.13%). The actual scoreline of 2-5 was predicted with a 0% likelihood.
