- Diego Costa is finally injury free, says Mourinho
- Do big teams struggle after the international break?
- Video: Mourinho - Cech is not joining Arsenal
- Chelsea v West Brom: match preview
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CHELSEA 2 WEST BROM 0
Full Time It was a strange game. Chelsea were completely dominant throughout but much more dangerous before West Brom were reduced to ten men. After that, the away team seemed more than willing to sit back and let Chelsea have the ball without threatening all that much. Irvine will no doubt focus on the fact that his side didn't concede after the red card but they showed no ambition whatsoever. Still, 2-0 isn't so bad and it's a lot better than many of us feared after that ridiculous challenge from Jacob.
85 mins Willian off, Ramires on. Morrison replaces Dorrans but it won't make any difference. Nor does anything though, we'll all be dead one day.
82 mins Drogba on for Costa. Judging by the reception, it's fair to say the home fans are quite keen on both players.
79 mins Oscar off, Remy on. Anichebe on for Berahino. The latter barely got a sniff today.
78 mins This could have been a lot worse were it not for Ben Foster it has to be said. Mourinho must be thrilled, it doesn't get much more comfortable than this; it has the air of a training session.
72 mins Fine save from Foster after an exquisite ball from Fabregas into the path of Hazard. They're not getting close to the Spaniard at all and he's having the time of his life.
67 mins This is peak Mourinho Chelsea. They're 2-0 up and totally in control but content to almost wind down the clock. It's like 2006 all over again so potentially good news for Scissor Sisters.
63 mins The commentator on Irish TV just said Fabregas was in "splendid isolation". Clearly a Warren Zevon fan.
59 mins Captain Brunt takes a free kick a few yards inside the opposition half and boots it straight into the stands after spotting Courtois slightly off his line. Just about sums up West Brom's afternoon. As Jasper Carrott once said about supporting a team from the same part of England, "You lose some, you draw some."
58 mins A few technical difficulties our end so apologies about the lack of updates this half. It is, as you might have guessed, all Chelsea. Still no goals since the red card but you have to imagine there are some more to come.
54 mins Dominance, thy name is Chelsea.
46 mins More of the same this half. West Brom's defenders fall asleep again and Matic ghosts in at the far post. He should have scored but hits it over the bar.
Half Time Even the dreamers must think this one is over. Still, West Brom haven't conceded since the sending off and that's something. Not much but it's something. Cesc Fabregas is having a good game because that's what he does.
45 mins Baseball has a mercy rule for situations like this. Alan Irvine must wish the referee had the option to pull the plug.
40 mins Chelsea have so much time and space on the edge of the box at the moment, the West Brom players simply aren't closing them down at all. It's far too easy and forwards are queuing up in the middle like it's a game of Wembley Doubles.
35 mins This one could end up looking something like this.
33 mins This is true but you could also win the ball after taking out a gun and shooting an opponent. He absolutely had to go.
28 mins Red card for Jacob! Oh dear. Two feet off the ground in a tackle on Costa and Lee Mason had very little option. That is the last thing West Brom needed. This could be a cricket score. Although 0-0 is actually a cricket score too so that phrase can be used at any time.
Goal! 25 mins The West Brom players decide to give themselves a breather and it's just so easy for the league leaders. Fabregas plays the simplest of corners to Hazard who slots the ball past Foster. This could be brutal.
23 mins This is absolute domination. Chelsea are hunting in packs all over the pitch and pressing supremely well. They're not allowing West Brom a moment's breather.
20 mins Costa goes close to grabbing a second. West Brom cannot deal with the Chelsea forward line at all at the moment. Baird is having a torrid time and has to take some responsibility for the goal.
15 mins Oscar nearly repeats the outside of the foot trick with a terric effort but Foster makes a fine save. It's all Chelsea now though there was a hint of offside about the goal. Offsides are much like paprika, more often than not there's a hint of it.
Goal! 11 mins Even better news for the home team. Oscar plays the ball into Costa and he finishes in style after an outstanding piece of control with his chest.
9 mins Sessegnon fizzes one past Courtois' right hand post. Manchester City have conceded which is good news for the home team.
4 mins John Terry has certainly been in the thick of it. Berahino is very unlucky not to get a free kick with Terry all over him before the "captain, leader, legend" misses a very good chance from close range after a scramble in the box. The atmosphere seems a bit better than it was against QPR, perhaps Jose's plan has worked.
14.59 There's a banner in the stand that says "The Governor" and has a picture of Diego Costa. Hopefully Paul Ince will sue.
14.51 Alan Irvine is on telly saying that even though Chelsea have great players all over the pitch he still believes his team has a chance. Which you'd expect him to say. Anyway, email me with any thoughts you might have about this one. I'm Tom Hanks, please be my Meg Ryan.
14.45 Mourinho says Costa is ready for a "marathon" Christmas. No word on whether that means too much turkey, mulled wine and the Royle Family special.
14.38 Chelsea's bench looks pretty ominius; Cech, Zouma, Filipe Luis, Ramires, Schurrle, Drogba and Remy. West Brom have Myhill, Gamboa, McAuley, Morrison, Anichebe, Samaras and Ideye waiting in the wings. People are getting excited, over 500 of them retweeted this:
14.33 This is Chelsea's first home game since Mourinho criticsed the lack of atmosphere at Stamford Bridge which was unquestionably something he feels very strongly about and definitely not in any way an attempt to distract from quite a poor performance. If the team avoid defeat today it will set a new club record for the most games unbeaten from the start of a season. The real question is whether they can go the whole season unbeaten, something the manager has repeatedly played down. Which is fair, it's still only November.
14.23 West Brom came close against Chelsea both times they met last season but Jose Mourinho doesn't seem overly concerned by the challenge posed on this occasion. He spent his pre-match press conference angrily refuting the suggestion that clubs might be interested in signing Petc Cech by having a go at the blogging community. Hopefully he'll have wade into the gamergate row next.
14.17 Afternoon all, I'm here and I come bearing team news.
Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta, Matic, Fabregas, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Costa
West Brom: Foster, Wisdom, Dawson, Lescott, Yacob, Baird, Gardner, Brunt, Dorrans, Sessegnon, Berahino
Costa and Fabregas play despite both having been doubtful. This is better knew for Chelsea fans than West Brom ones.
Email darren.richman@telegraph.co.uk with your thoughts on today's game
Darren will be here from 2pm with team news and build up from Stamford Bridge. In the meantime here is Jose Mourinho with good news for Chelsea and bad news for everyone else regarding Diego Costa's fitness ...
Jose Mourinho has declared Diego Costa finally free of the hamstring injury that has dogged his Chelsea career but admitted to concerns about how he would cope with their “incredible marathon” of games for the rest of 2014.
Costa is expected to start Saturday’s game with West Bromwich Albion after being excused Spain duty during the international break in order to fully address a problem that has blighted his otherwise explosive start to life in English football.
But his manager admitted a run of 12 matches in less than six weeks would be a culture shock for his star striker, who is used to having Christmas off.
“Now we are going to have a period that is new for him,” he said. “I believe the Christmas period for players doing it for the first time in their careers is more difficult.
“The English players, or those who have been here for many years, are more physically and mentally adapted and prepared to cope with the special incredible marathon of football we face.
“He had a little holiday, with a Chelsea physio, for two weeks so even then he was working many hours per day with our physio.
“After that, he came back, he keeps going in the right direction. We feel he’s free of his old injury.”
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