West Brom vs. Chelsea: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Jose Mourinho says he's unimpressed with his Chelsea players.
"I'm not happy with anyone," he told the gathered media on Friday.
"I'm not happy with [Branislav] Ivanovic's form, [Gary] Cahill, John [Terry], Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta], Eden [Hazard], [Cesc] Fabregas, [Nemanja] Matic.
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"But, for me, the first thing is I'm not happy with my form, because I used to get better results than I'm getting. This is the start of everything."
Mourinho has also hinted to expect him to be more animated than usual on the touchline after hitting the treadmill.
"I go to the gym every day now to get fitter," he added. "Maybe I need more action on the touchline, so I need to be fitter."
Chelsea certainly need more energy, that's for sure. They have looked sluggish in their opening two matches, only showing flashes of what we should expect from the Premier League champions.
With another week to work on fitness and tactics, Sunday's trip to West Bromwich Albion should offer something different to what we have seen thus far.
Added to that, Chelsea have been buoyed this week by the capture of Baba Rahman and Pedro to strengthen their options in defence and attack.
There are still holes in the squad, but it's a positive sign that the club has reacted swiftly to the Manchester City defeat by addressing two key areas.
From the doom and gloom of losing 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium, victory at the Hawthorns will cap off what's been a productive week for the Blues.
They need nothing less than a win, though. Their predicament isn't drastic yet, but they can't allow their title rivals to continue putting points on the board without a reaction.
Much has been made of the fact Mourinho's last six league defeats have come against managers whose surnames begin with a P—Tony Pulis (two), Manuel Pellegrini (two), Gus Poyet and Alan Pardew.
The Chelsea boss laughed off that fact in his press conference, but he won't be laughing if Pulis adds to that unfortunate statistic on Sunday.
Match details
Date: Sunday, August 23
Time: 1:30 p.m. BST/9:30 a.m. ET
Venue: The Hawthorns, Birmingham
TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK only); NBCSN (U.S. only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only); NBCSN Live Extra (U.S. only)
Last five games
It hasn't been the best start to the season for either Chelsea or West Bromwich Albion. Both sides have lost 3-0 to Manchester City, drawing their other match with Swansea City and Watford, respectively.
The Baggies are yet to score in 2015/16, too.
| July 25 | Swindon Town 1-4 West Brom |
| July 28 | Walsall 0-2 West Brom |
| July 31 | Bristol Rovers 0-4 West Brom |
| August 10 | West Brom 0-3 Man City |
| August 15 | Watford 0-0 West Brom |
| July 29 | Chelsea 2-2 Barcelona |
| August 2 | Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea |
| August 5 | Chelsea 0-1 Fiorentina |
| August 8 | Chelsea 2-2 Swansea City |
| August 16 | Man City 3-0 Chelsea |
Predicted lineups
Jose Mourinho confirmed at his pre-match press conference on Friday that Thibaut Courtois will return to goal on Sunday, despite the heroics of Asmir Begovic against Manchester City last week when he filled in for the suspended Belgian.
The manager has also lamented a lack of pace at the back in recent matches, so we can expect Kurt Zouma to start in a bid to cancel out Saido Berahino's threat.
Oscar and Victor Moses are both out injured.
Tony Pulis says he isn't sure on his team to face Chelsea, but we can expect Rickie Lambert to partner Saido Berahino up front. That will mean record signing Salomon Rondon will be among the substitutes.
Players to watch
Saido Berahino
The young Englishman scored 20 goals last season and while he is yet to get off the mark in 2015/16, it doesn't mean he will not be a threat on Sunday.
Indeed, the last time Berahino was on the scoresheet in a competitive fixture for his club was against Chelsea in the Baggies' 3-0 victory at the end of last term.
Chelsea were already champions by that time, so we can't read too much into the result as a precursor for this weekend's clash.
With that game in mind, however, Berahino will no doubt be hoping to replicate his success after giving John Terry a hard time back in May.
Pedro
He's barely trained with his new teammates, but it's almost certain Pedro will feature at some point on Sunday, especially as Oscar is out injured.
Whether or not he starts is another matter, yet what's certain is how he's had a big impact at Stamford Bridge without even kicking a ball.
The mood has been lifted on the back of his transfer to west London and, given how sluggish Chelsea have looked in attack, Jose Mourinho will want to utilise Pedro in order to make a difference and get his team back to winning ways.
Pedro is an exciting player. He'll add some energy to Chelsea's forward play, bringing flair and a real threat to the West Brom defence.
He's something different, which is exactly what Chelsea needed.
Key battle
Chris Brunt vs. Chelsea's right-back
Will it be Branislav Ivanovic or Cesar Azpilicueta at right-back?
The answer to that question depends largely on whether or not Baba Rahman makes his debut for Chelsea. If he does, there's every chance Ivanovic will be dropped to the bench given his surprisingly poor form in the opening two matches of 2015/16.
Whoever features at right-back, though, West Brom will look to target that area of the pitch.
It's been Chelsea's biggest weakness defensively this season, with Swansea and Man City both being rewarded for getting at Ivanovic.
With such uncertainty lingering at the back, expect Chris Brunt to get forward from left-back, sniffing the opportunity to whip crosses in and cause further panic in the heart of the defence.
Doubling up on Chelsea's right could be where West Brom get something from this game.
Prediction
West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Chelsea
Odds
Home win: -160
Away win: +573
Draw: +335
First goalscorer: Eden Hazard (5/1)
*Home/Away win and draw odds via Odds Shark, goalscoring odds via OddsChecker
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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