Tony Pulis is beginning to forge himself a bit of a reputation as the manager to employ when a club is battling for survival. The former Stoke boss worked wonders at Crystal Palace last season, and despite not having quite as dramatic an impact at West Brom since taking over from Alan Irvine earlier this year, he has also led the Baggies to safety. It was still mathematically possible they could be relegated up until last weekend but as things stand heading into their penultimate game of the season, they are seven points clear of third bottom Hull and have looked safe for a couple of weeks now. Having been in the job for a little under five months now, Pulis will have has an opportunity to assess his squad and identify where he will need to strengthen for next season. And – if reports are to believed regarding the reason for him leaving Palace – it’s a part of the job he likes full autonomy over.
All that’s left to do for Chelsea between now and the end of the season is to lift the league trophy and mark their first title in five season’s. Since clinching the Premier League against Crystal Palace at the beginning of the month, it has been fairly low key for Jose Mourinho and his players. Their only game since ended in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, which extended their unbeaten run in the league to 16 games. Not for one resting on his laurels, I’m sure the Portuguese manager will be looking for his team to finish be season unbeaten but the hard work is done for Chelsea and they can look forward to defending their title next season. The club have already strengthened their ranks ahead of that defence with the signing of Brazilian midfielder, Nathan, who joins on a long term deal, adding to a growing list of samba stars at the club.
The target for Pulis and West Brom going forward is to avoid being embroiled in another relegation battle. It is now consecutive seasons that the Midlands club have found themselves involved in the battle to stay up, following a 17th placed finished in 2013/14. They already have five more points than their final tally for last season, indicating some sort of improvement, but it’s a far cry from the top half finishes they enjoyed in season’s previous to that. The squad is obviously in need of strengthening – particularly in the striking departments. With only 34 goals scored in the league this season, they have the fifth worst record in the league.
As well as defending their title, domestically, Chelsea will also be targeting a prolonged run in the Champions League. Their elimination at the last-16 stage this season will have been a real frustration for owner Roman Abramovich, who makes no secret of his desire to win multiple Champions Leagues. Failure to achieve that success was one of the reasons why Mourinho left the club after his first spell in charge, resulting in Robert Di Matteo being in charge for Chelsea’s only Champions League triumph, five years later. There is likely to be further investment over the course of the summer in their quest to achieve this aim.
This game is about as close to a dead-rubber as you can get in professional football. Chelsea are Champions (and have long been champions-elect), whilst West Brom will just be delighted to have secured their Premier League status with a couple of games to spare. Pulis’ team have ended the season strongly, winning two and drawing two in their last four games. Their lack of goals is well documented and with Chelsea likely to field some fringe players, I think it will be a low-scoring affair at the Hawthorns. The pace of the game is also likely to reduced compared to a ‘normal’ game in this league so under 2.5 goals is tempting (best priced 31/40 @ Betvictor). However, I think there is some value in siding with the draw. Both clubs will be happy to continue their unbeaten runs ahead of the final games to be played next weekend, and I think this is the most likely outcome.
Draw 5/2 @ Paddypower
