Premier League: West Bromwich Albion welcome Chelsea to The Hawthorns

The superstitious would bet on Jose Mourinho losing his after the match against West Bromwich Albion if things don’t go according to plan. Both Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo were sacked following unsatisfactory results against the Baggies, however, having just backed his manager with the signing of Pedro owner Roman Abramovich is unlikely to do anything quite as drastic regardless of the score.

Chelsea are odds-on at 8/13 with Coral to beat the Baggies, however Mourinho’s men lost 3-0 at The Hawthorns at the end of last season, with Saido Berahino bagging a brace, including a penalty, while Chris Brunt also got on the scoresheet.

The duo are 11/4 and 7/1 respectively to net anytime this time around, while new record signing Salomon Rondon is 8/1 to break the deadlock.

Interestingly, Chelsea haven’t won in their last four visits to The Hawthorns, which makes the odds of 11/2 for the hosts to win, even more attractive.

Following the 3-0 away defeat to Manchester City last time out, Mourinho solidified his one side of his team, bringing in Abdul Baba Rahman to play at left back and Spanish winger Pedro to play in front of him, despite Eden Hazard having huge success there last term.

It is unclear whether the latter will feature, however, Mourinho has been talking up his new attacking recruit. “We have got one of the best attacking players in the world, a player with lots of experience and with something that I really like very, very much: the desire to leave a giant club, one of the best clubs in the world, a club that normally when you are there, you don’t want to leave,” said Mourinho.

“For a player like him, loved at that club and who loves the club, to want to leave because he is looking for something more for his career… that is an evident sign of ambition.