Play Safe: 3 Reasons Why Chelsea Should Be Wary Of West Brom

Chelsea vs West Brom

Chelsea go into the Premier League clash against West Bromwich Albion in high spirits after recording yet another victory under Guus Hiddink, this time in the FA Cup. The Blues dispatched Scunthorpe without too many problems and now look set to take on a team which is placed above them in the Premier League standings.

West Brom are also in a bit of good form, not having lost their last three games and having defeated Stoke a couple of weeks ago, their confidence will be riding high. Saido Berahino also seems to be back on track as he scored for the team in the FA Cup and he could be in line to start for Pulis at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have not lost to West Brom in the league since 1978 but this season hasn’t been the walk in the park that the Blues would have expected. West Brom under Pulis is a tough team to defeat and here are three reasons why the Blues should be careful about this game.

1. Berahino with a point to prove

Saido Berahino was scoring goals for fun last season but it didn’t go that entire well when he wanted to move to Tottenham and that move fell through, he was subsequently dropped from the team and only gradually returned to the side.

Tony Pulis hasn’t started any game with the English striker but the bridge seems to have been rebuilt between manager and player. Berahino scored as soon as he came on the in the FA Cup for West Brom and even shook the manager’s hand, a fit and focused Berahino might pose a lot of problems to a Chelsea defence which hasn’t been up to the mark this season.

2. Chelsea’s lack of attacking power

Chelsea come into this game scoring goals for fun and Diego Costa is back on form as well but the likes of Costa, Oscar and Hazard could be missing from the game due to a range of injuries. While Chelsea on paper should have more firepower than West Brom even without these players that would have been the case had they actually been playing well.

Pedro doesn’t seem to be the player who was scoring for fun at Barcelona and simply betting it all on Willian won’t get Chelsea anywhere either. Falcao is injured and Loic Remy could start for the Blues but he doesn’t provide a lot of confidence in attack for them. This could be a tough day for the Chelsea attack and with Tony Pulis drilling his side well; goal scoring could be a major problem for the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

3. The last meeting fresh in the mind

The last time these two clubs met, it was a lucky win for Chelsea. They saw John Terry get sent off and West Bromwich also missed a penalty before they made a great comeback but just couldn’t get the third goal in the 3-2 loss. West Brom don’t have the best record against Chelsea but the reverse fixture could well be playing in the mind of the players who would be hoping for a similar performance by Chelsea.

West Brom also were one of the teams that handed Mourinho a defeat last season, a 3-0 loss at the Hawthorns and if Chelsea lose their cool like they have against this opposition, West Brom could well nick all three points.