Chelsea team news: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs West Brom

Nizaar Kinsella

Chelsea team news: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs West Brom image

Chelsea's underwhelming form since the turn of the year is threatening to turn into a crisis after two defeats in a row by three-goal margins against lesser opposition. 

Antonio Conte's future, while not thought to be at imminent risk, is being questioned, but Chelsea are in fourth place in the Premier League, with the FA Cup and Champions League still to play for.  

Meanwhile, their opponents on Monday are four points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table but West Brom will be looking to cause a huge upset and boost their bid for survival.


CHELSEA INJURIES


Pedro was Chelsea's latest injury worry after coming off injured against Watford in the 4-1 defeat last Monday but Conte has confirmed that he's recovered in time to face West Brom.

Andreas Christensen and Ross Barkley are both out with hamstring injuries, but the young defender could return on Monday. Alvaro Morata, who has a back injury, remains on the sidelines for an indefinite period.  

Willian and David Luiz both returned in the defeat against the Hornets, while Cesc Fabregas has also recently come back into the side. Marcos Alonso was rested due to tiredness against Watford but should return against West Brom. 

Chelsea have recently been given time off, with Conte allowing the players a three-day break instead of the usual one day after the Watford defeat. It is thought that the team would take the opportunity to have a proper break having played two games every week since mid-November. 

The tiredness in the squad is thought to have contributed to the worsening injury record in recent weeks. 


CHELSEA SUSPENSIONS


Conte is without Tiemoue Bakayoko after his disastrous 30-minute display at Vicarage Road ended with a sending off for two bookable offences. Bakayoko will return to face Hull City in the FA Cup fifth round. 

Chelsea currently have no other players suspended. Spain striker Morata is, however, two yellow cards away from a two-match ban. 


POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP


Chelsea's newest recruit Olivier Giroud made his debut against Watford but he was unable to suitably influence the game. 

Conte faces a dilemma over whether to use Eden Hazard as a false nine again or use Giroud as a classic striker as Pedro returns from injury.  

Giroud hasn't started a game since mid-December after picking up a hamstring injury at his old club Arsenal. 

Emerson Palmieri could be in contention to make his debut but it will likely be from the bench after his six-month absence from first-team football at Roma due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Marcos Alonso will return to the starting line-up and Chelsea will likely play in a 3-4-3 formation as they aim to dominate lesser opposition.

Conte will likely use the strongest line-up that he has available to him after his side's form troubles and with an FA Cup game against Hull City coming up after West Brom. 

Chelsea XI versus


WEST BROM TEAM NEWS


Pardew has said that he expects Grzegorz Krychowiak and Kieran Gibbs to return for the match at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. 

However, West Brom captain Jonny Evans is struggling to get over a back problem. Jake Livermore and Hal Robson-Kanu are also aiming for a return against Chelsea with both carrying knocks. 

James Morrison has been nursing an Achilles problem for over a month now, while Nacer Chadli has been out for a while with a hip problem.  


TV CHANNEL & KICK OFF TIME


The match takes place at 20:00 GMT on Monday and will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports. 


BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS


  • Chelsea have won all three Premier League meetings against West Brom under Antonio Conte without conceding a single goal.

  • The Blues have lost consecutive league games by a margin of three or more goals for the first time since October 1995 (1-4 vs Man Utd, 0-3 vs Blackburn) – they’ve never previously lost three in a row by such a margin in the top flight.

  • Alan Pardew has won away at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League with two different clubs (Newcastle United and Crystal Palace) – no manager has ever won there with three. In the top flight, the last manager to win away at Chelsea with three different clubs was Ron Atkinson (West Brom, Man Utd and Aston Villa).

  • Antonio Conte hasn’t lost three consecutive league games as manager since November 2009, when he was with Atalanta in Serie A.

  • West Brom haven’t beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in any of their last 16 visits in all competitions (D3 L13), since winning 1-0 in the League Cup in November 1983 under Ron Wylie.

Nizaar Kinsella

Nizaar Kinsella Photo

Nizaar Kinsella is a Chelsea correspondent with experience covering international football at the World Cup and European Championships. He is a trusted voice within the Chelsea community, attending almost every game and having spent many years doing so. Coverage on Goal.com has seen him invited onto CNN, BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport and BeINSports to comment on the turbulent world of the Stamford Bridge club. He previously worked for the Daily Mirror and BBC Radio Manchester, as well as a period working in the UK charity sector.