Hazard is out with a groin injury. Guus Hiddink has made a slow start to life as Blues manager, and the West Londoners find themselves three points adrift of their upcoming opponents in the bottom half of the table.
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Chelsea host West Brom in the Premier League later today and Guus Hiddink’s men will be looking to continue their revival against the Baggies in front of the home fans at Stamford Bridge.
Diego Costa is the only available forward given that Loic Remy is yet to return to full fitness following an ankle injury while Radamel Falcao is still out with a thigh problem.
The Blues’ last league defeat was the 2-1 reverse at Leicester which turned out to be Jose Mourinho’s final match in charge; two wins and two draws under Hiddink since then have pulled the Premier League champions away from the drop zone.
Victor Anichebe and Jonas Olsson are the only doubts for the visitors, who otherwise go into the match at Stamford Bridge with a clean bill of health. Costa has had a hand in three goals (two goals, one assist) in three top-flight encounters against West Brom.
When these sides last met in the Premier League early in the season, there was little sign of quite how badly the following months would go for Chelsea. “They have worked really hard and we will now need to manage them over the next few weeks with two consecutive midweek games coming up”.
Key factor: Will Chelsea be able to unlock West Brom’s defense?
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One of those players is Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who scored his first-ever goal for his boyhood club on Sunday, and the midfielder could be brought on against West Brom with Nemanja Matic unavailable following a training-ground injury at the weekend. I think Chelsea are going to go on a bit of run and could still get top four.
