- Chelsea hasn’t lost since Dec. 17
- West Brom 2W-1D-1L in last four against Chelsea
- Baggies winless since New Year’s Day home win over Newcastle
Yes, Chelsea is red-hot and West Brom is still searching for their first win under new boss Pepe Mel, but there’s one thing many are forgetting: Mel has won a match against Jose Mourinho before (Watch West Brom and Chelsea live today on NBCSN at 3pm ET or online via NBC Sports Live Extra).
So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.“It’s possible for us to win,” Mel maintained. “The last season Mourinho was manager of Real Madrid and Pepe Mel was manager of Betis. Mel win.
“Was it the best win of my career? No, it was [only] a La Liga match. It was a more important match for Jose than for me because when they lost this match Real Madrid lost La Liga.”
Mel pulled a Mourinho, so to speak, in those pre-match quotes, reminding Chelsea’s boss how the win wasn’t such a big deal for Betis but that it essentially made Real Madrid’s chances of catching Barcelona that year disappear into thin air.
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Once you get past the cute stories, there may be something more, though. Over the past three seasons, the Baggies have more than held their own against the Blues. West Brom has won both matches versus Chelsea at the Hawthorns, and drew Chelsea earlier this season at Stamford Bridge.
Those plot lines aside, Chelsea’s on fine form. The Blues haven’t lost since Dec. 17, a League Cup loss to Sunderland, and are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League matches. Furthermore, the club is taking care of business in its own end; Chelsea is on a run of four-consecutive clean sheets across all competitions.
What they’re saying
Chelsea defender David Luiz on zeroes: “It’s always important to keep a clean sheet because it enables us to give a platform to the more attacking players to hurt the opposition,’ he tells the official Chelsea website. That’s our job and it makes me very happy when we are able to do that, but it’s not just about the defenders, it’s down to the whole team. It’s because everybody, the strikers and midfielders, along with the back four, are working hard for the team.”
More Mel on Chelsea’s star power: "(Eden) Hazard for me is now in the top five in the world. He is a very, very good player. What’s important for us is the whole of Chelsea because if it’s not Hazard, it’s Oscar, it’s Willian – very good players.”
Prediction
While the “Any Given Matchday” rule applies each week, it’s difficult to consider this weekend’s results as harbinger’s of good for West Brom. The Baggies suffered a 3-1 loss at Crystal Palace and Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Newcastle featured an absolutely scintillating display from hat trick hero Hazard. Lately, West Brom has been conceding goals while Chelsea has been potting them. Here’s a 4-1 win for the Blues.