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For years we've heard the chants of "boring, boring Chelsea" echoing from our opponents, and sometimes, ironically, even from our own - but nothing is as boring to watch as a Tony Pulis-managed side. Which is exactly the pleasure we'll all be treated to tomorrow, when West Brom's PulisBall-show rolls into town.
At the Hawthorns earlier this season, Pulis and José Mourinho managed to add a bit of spice to their match-up as Chelsea won the game 3-2, with the Blues not showing much defensive steel in front of a toothless West Bromwich attack. But the times, just like the identity of the man in charge of Chelsea, are a-changing.
Many expect a straightforward Chelsea victory; let's give it to them.
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 12, 2016, 19:45 GMT; 2:45pm EST; 1:15am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Anthony Taylor - Taylor refereed two 1-0 Chelsea losses so far this season: the first to Arsenal in the Community Shield, the second to Stoke City in the Premier League. His last refereed match was in the FA Cup, as West Ham beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 with no cards handed out by Taylor.
Forecast: Dry, cloudy, cool.
On TV: none (UK); Premier League Extra Time (USA; on demand); Star Sports 2 / HD 2 (India); elsewhere.
Streaming Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (USA); talkSport, Chelsea TV (radio int'l).
Chelsea team news: Chelsea still don't have a completely clean slate as far injuries are concerned, with Radamel Falcao and Eden Hazard still unavailable -- the club taking it easy and careful with Hazard especially -- but we do have good news as Diego Costa, Oscar, Nemanja Matic, and Loïc Rémy are all back in training and available for selection.
Coming into the match with three wins and two draws in our last five matches, Chelsea will want to continue our good form and maintain our mathematical chance of still reaching the top four, while also giving more opportunities to youngsters like Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kenedy.
West Bromwich team news: Defender Jonas Olsson and striker Victor Anichebe continue to be unavailable due to hamstring injuries. One player set to make a comeback from injury though is goalkeeper Ben Foster, who's been out since March due to an ACL injury.
Another player who could be unavailable to play is striker Saido Berahino, who's been linked with a Chelsea transfer (among several other teams) all season long. After trying to force a transfer out of West Brom in the summer transfer window, Berahino finds himself on Albions' bench despite scoring as many goals in half the amount of minutes as preferred striker Salomon Rondon.
In his pre-match press conference, manager Tony Pulis was less than complementary about Guus Hiddink's achievements so far at Chelsea, calling some of the praise towards the Dutchman 'a load of c**p'. Pulis might be a big fan of José Mourinho, but comments like that probably still didn't go down well in Chelsea's dressing room. Extra motivation!
With a playing style that can be summed up by "punt the ball forward and see how it goes for us", West Brom will do everything they can to annoy, harass, tackle, and make it difficult for Chelsea. You can find out more on how West Bromwich will present themselves in our opposition analysis.
Previously: A 3-2 win for Chelsea at West Brom back in August last year, which was also our first win in an official game this season. Interestingly, all three Chelsea goals were scored by Spaniards (Pedro, Diego Costa and César Azpilicueta, respectively).