Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended1481474963

Chelsea vs West Brom as it happened: Diego Costa breakthrough gives Antonio Conte's side win

Re-live the Premier League meeting at Stamford Bridge

Sam Dymond
Sunday 11 December 2016 11:30 GMT
Comments
Fletcher dances through the Chelsea midfield at Stamford Bridge
Fletcher dances through the Chelsea midfield at Stamford Bridge (Getty)

Chelsea will hope to extend their winning streak to nine consecutive Premier League victories when West Bromwich Albion visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Antonio Conte's irresistible force meets the immovable object of a Tony Pulis team, who are enjoying an excellent run of form themselves.

Follow live coverage with our blog below...

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.

Saturday's Premier League results

Watford 3 Everton 2

Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1

Burnley 3 Bournemouth 2

Hull City 3 Crystal Palace 3

Swansea City 3 Sunderland 0

Leicester City 4 Manchester City 2

Sunday's Premier League fixtures

Chelsea vs West Bromwich Albion (12.00pm)

Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur (2.15pm)

Southampton vs Middlesbrough (2.15pm)

Liverpool vs West Ham United (4.30pm)

1481453853

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Sunday's early Premier League match between Chelsea - looking to reclaim top spot - and West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge.

We'll have news of all the lunchtime action in West London before casting the net wider for three more games from the top flight that include Manchester United's match with Tottenham and Liverpool's home fixture against West Ham.

I'm Sam Dymond, and I'll be in the hot seat for the duration. Take the weight off my shoulders in being funny and informative by either 'making a comment' using the facility above or by tweeting @sammydymond. Now let's get going!

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 10:57
1481454302

The teams are in from West London...

...and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has made a single change to the team that turned Manchester City over at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday. Out goes Cesc Fabregas to be replaced in midfield by Nemanja Matic. The division's joint leading scorer, 11-goal Diego Costa, leads the line for the Blues.

Before yesterday's results, West Bromwich Albion had climbed up to sixth in the table and so it is no surprise that Tony Pulis names an unchanged team. The Baggies beat Watford last time out and go with the same starting eleven which means Republic of Ireland international James McClean and record-signing Nacer Chaldi remain on the substitutes' bench.

Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill, Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso, Pedro, Hazard, Costa

Subs: Begovic, Aina, Ivanovic, Chalobah, Fabregas, Willian, Batshuayi

West Brom: Foster, Dawson, McAuley, Evans, Nyom, Yacob, Fletcher, Brunt, Morrison, Phillips, Rondon

Subs: Palmer, Olsson, Robson-Kanu, Gardner, McClean, Galloway, Chadli

Referee: Mike Dean

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 11:05
1481455492

West Brom have lost just one of their last five matches away from the Hawthorns, but Chelsea will be an altogether tougher prospect; Conte's men require just a single point to return to the Premier League summit.

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 11:24
1481456407

There's 20 minutes until kick-off at the Bridge and Glenn Hoddle is talking in riddles to Harry Redknapp over on BT Sport so this seems like the perfect opportunity to remind you of the state of play.

By avoiding a shock defeat, Chelsea will move above Arsenal and back to the top of the Premier League while a victory would take them three points ahead of the Gunners and six in front of Liverpool, who have West Ham still to play later today.

Anything for Albion - who often give their hosts a game in this fixture - would shift them back to sixth, leapfrogging Watford and Manchester United in the process. A win would have them eagerly eyeing up the European spots above them, an unthinkable scenario at the start of November.

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 11:40
1481457268

The top boys in the Matthew Harding Stand whip up an incredible atmosphere before kick-off...

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 11:54
1481457415

The teams are in the tunnel. Mike Dean has his game face on. It's almost time.

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 11:56
1481457552

Both sets of supporters get stuck into Harry J. All Stars' The Liquidator as the pre-match rigmarole begins. Watching on, Roman Abramovich looks uncomfortable at the thought of the anthem's title.

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 11:59
1481457648

KICK-OFF: With 'Blue is the Colour' still pumping out of the tannoy, West Bromwich Albion's one-man kick-off routine gets the action underway. Albion, in their dark away strip (clashing with Chelsea's home kit in the bright sunshine), are attacking their own fans at the Shed End of the stadium - or at least they were until the hosts took possession of the football five seconds in. This could set the tone for a long afternoon for the visitors.

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 12:00
1481457968

3 mins: David Luiz gives his first unnecessary free-kick away of the day; the Brazilian uses Salomon Rondon's back to get a leg up to head a high ball on the halfway line. With Albion looking to pack the box when these set-piece situations come calling, the Chelsea defender will do to remember the rules this afternoon.

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 12:06
1481458046

5 mins: Matt Phillips gets opportunity to demonstrate the confused expression he mastered at QPR. The winger is convinced he's earned a corner, but Mike Dean rules that the last touch came off the West Brom man rather than Cesar Azpilicueta.

Sam Dymond11 December 2016 12:07

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in