A record-breaking weekend is up for grabs for The Blues. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton detail this and much more.

TALKING POINTS
It's top versus bottom, and Chelsea will be hoping for a similar result to our most recent Saturday evening encounter, with Manchester City at Eastlands, a 3-1 win for Luis Felipe Scolari's men.

We all need a pick-me-up following Wednesday night's cup disappointment. The one positive to emerge from a dispiriting game was the form of Didier Drogba. He looked sharper than he has all season, and brilliantly put away his first domestic goal since that devastating brace against Arsenal back in March.  

KEY STAT Chelsea are looking to overtake our own club (and the Premier League's) record of nine successive away league wins, originally set in 2004/05 and equalled at Blackburn on Sunday.

Despite a worrying difficulty in finding the net in cup competitions, after 12 matches in the league under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Chelsea's yield of goals per game is quite extraordinary: 2.16 per match at home, 2.66 away.

If the trend continued over the whole season it would surpass almost anything achieved in the previous five campaigns. In that period the team has only once bettered such figures.

That was in 2005/6, the second title-winning season, when the home tally of goals was 47 in total, 2.47 per game. Back then, though, the average on our travels was a comparatively poor 1.31 - the lowest in the Roman Abramovich era - and we lost five times, to Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Fulham, Blackburn and Newcastle.

The last time goals came easier away from home was in 2004/5, Mourinho's debut season: an average of 1.94 compared to 1.84. There were three 0-0 draws and six 1-0 wins at Stamford Bridge in that triumphant campaign.

Burnley's goal was the first we have conceded domestically in the second-half of a game this season. No league team has netted in the second 45 to date. The penalty shootout defeat at the end of that game was our fifth in succession.

The others were Charlton (in the League Cup), Liverpool (Champions League), Manchester Utd (Community Shield) and Manchester Utd (Champions League). The total rises to six if you include the Railways Cup in pre-season! Our last triumph in the spot-kicks lottery was at Ipswich in January 1998.

Only six teams in the Premier League have a positive goal difference. They are the top five in the table, plus Man City (13th). Chelsea have scored the most league goals, 29, and West Brom the fewest, 10.

Premier League top scorers
Anelka (Chelsea) 10
Zaki (Wigan) 8
Bent (Tottenham) 7
Robinho (Man City) 7
Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) 6
Defoe (Portsmouth) 6
Ronaldo (Man Utd) 6

Yet again Liverpool play before Chelsea and have the chance to go three points clear for a few hours. The Scousers' 3-1 win at the Reebok last season was their first for four years.

Villa, visitors to the Emirates, have drawn 1-1 on their previous two trips there. Sir Alex Ferguson will have been working on defending throw-ins all week in anticipation of Stoke and Rory Delap's arrival at Old Trafford. The Potters have not won there since April 1976.

The weekend's Barclays Premier League fixtures
Saturday
Bolton v Liverpool 12.45pm Sky Sports
Arsenal v Aston Villa 3pm
Blackburn v Sunderland 3pm
Fulham v Tottenham 3pm
Man Utd v Stoke 3pm
Newcastle v Wigan 3pm
West Ham v Portsmouth 3pm
WBA v Chelsea 5.30pm Setanta
Sunday
Everton v Middlesbrough 1.30pm Sky Sports
Hull v Man City 4pm Sky Sports

Barclays Premier League table

Top		P	GD	PTS
1	Chelsea	12	25	29
2	Liverpool	12	11	29
3	Arsenal	12	12	23
4	Man Utd	11	10	21
5	Aston Villa	12	4	20
6	Hull	12	-2	20
Bottom
15	Blackburn	12	-9	13
16	Tottenham	12	-3	12
17	Wigan	12	-3	12
18	Newcastle	12	-5	12
19	Sunderland	12	-8	12
20	WBA	12	-11	11

TALKING TACTICS
Three wins from the opening seven matches represented West Bromwich Albion's best start to a Premier League campaign, but damaging defeats mean they are now bottom of the table.

Brom have been undone by soft goals conceded, sometimes from a lack of street wisdom, the cool professionalism that leads a defender to kick a ball into touch late in the game rather than allowing it to fall for an opposition striker to score, as happened recently at Blackburn, a 2-2 draw.

Tony Mowbray recently observed that his side plays the same every week, but 'what needs to change is the end product of getting three points.' Easier said than done at this level, though the manager is unlikely to change his overall desire to have his side play an attacking, passing game.

We might expect the same tactical approach West Brom had at Anfield last weekend. The Scousers played with two men upfront in Keane and Kuyt, and Mowbray matched not only their 4-4-2 formation, but their attacking endeavour too.

Albion enjoyed plenty of possession in the home side's half without threatening the goal, other than speculative shots from wide man Robert Koren. Robbie Keane capitalised on lapses by Jonas Olsson to provide Liverpool a 2-0 half-time lead. Alvaro Arbeloa added a third.

It summed up Brom's season - a failure to score during spells when they are dominating possession, and paying dearly when concentration dropped at the back.

They have scored 10 goals in 12 matches so far - tall Czech forward Roman Bednar (pictured below) is their top scorer - but have conceded 21. They have the league's worst goal difference.

Top of the table Chelsea have the best away goals return - 16 in six matches - and have only let in one league goal away from the Bridge. A good performance from the recuperating Didier Drogba in midweek may lead to a start here, but top scorer Nicolas Anelka, who has the knack of nipping in behind defences, will surely play against Brom's troubled back four.


WE HAVE HISTORY
Chelsea are looking to extend our unbeaten run against West Brom to 17 games.

The Baggies' last win against us was in November 1983 in the League Cup third round at Stamford Bridge. They last beat us in the league back in March 1979 on home territory. Twenty-two-year-old Ray Wilkins captained a side including Chelsea TV's Clive Walker and Tommy Langley.

Albion won by the only goal scored by Ally Brown at the Hawthorns in the old First Division. The 16-game run consists of 13 wins and three draws.

Chelsea's biggest ever win at the Hawthorns was in October 2004. Caretaker Frank Burrows was in charge of his first game since the departure of Gary Megson, and didn't feel the 4-1 scoreline reflected his team's performance. Sitting in the post-match press conference in his trademark cloth cap, the veteran coach was asked by a smirking TV reporter and journalist whether he wasn't out of touch with the ways of the modern game, at which José Mourinho was the vanguard.

'Ask the fella next to you,' Burrows spat back, indicating a scribe of the old school tapping at his laptop, 'if he's too old to use a computer.' The TV man was suitably embarrassed.

In truth, it was a ruthlessly efficient rather than exhilarating Chelsea display. Goals for William Gallas and Eidur Gudjohnsen (pictured below) either side of half-time tempered a spirited performance from the home side.

It was one of those occasions when the dissatisfied Special One made a double substitution, bringing on Ricardo Carvalho and Arjen Robben for Wayne Bridge (Gallas moving wide) and Joe Cole.

Zoltan Gera, with a scudding drive from the edge of the box, pulled one back for Albion, but Damien Duff and Frank Lampard sealed the points with breakaway goals.

It was the Blues' second consecutive four-goal haul in the league - either side of a poor 1-0 win over West Ham in the League Cup - and put us level on points with early pacesetters Arsenal. The following week we went top and never looked back.

Chelsea's second ever home league match was against Albion. We won 1-0. Between 1913 and 1952 we only won once at the Hawthorns in the league.


OUR MOST RECENT VISIT TO THE HAWTHORNS
West Brom 1 Chelsea 2
Premier League, Saturday March 4th 2006.
Referee Mark Halsey
Crowd 26,581

West Brom  Manager Bryan Robson  Kuszczak  Albrechtsen     Davies      Clement      Robinson Kamara          Wallwork     Inamoto       Greening  Kozak Campbell (c)  Substitutes Ellington for Inamoto (70), Kanu for Campbell (70) Watson for Albrechtsen (81) Booked Wallwork Scorer Kanu 86  Robben                Drogba                       Duff  Gudjohnsen            Makelele                  Essien Gallas           Terry (c)           Huth           Ferreira  Cech Manager José Mourinho  Chelsea Substitutes J Cole for Duff (64), Gérémi for Gudjohnsen (72), Wright-Phillips for Drogba (84)  Sent-off Robben 62 Scorers Drogba 50, J Cole 75

Other match in 2005/06
24 Aug 2005 Premier League
Chelsea..........4 WBA..........0
Lampard 23, 80      Att: 41,201
J Cole 43
Drogba 68

Chelsea have won the last eight meetings between the clubs including all six in the Premier League.

Oct 6 1993	Stamford Bridge	W 2-1 League Cup
Jan 4 1997	Stamford Bridge	W 3-0 FA Cup
Oct 26 2002	Stamford Bridge	W 2-0 Premier League
Mar 16 2003	The Hawthorns	W 2-0 Premier League
Oct 30 2004	The Hawthorns	W 4-1 Premier League
Mar 15 2005	Stamford Bridge	W 1-0 Premier League
Aug 24 2005	Stamford Bridge	W 4-0 Premier League
Mar 4 2006	The Hawthorns	W 2-1 Premier League

West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea in all competitions
Games played 121
Chelsea wins 48
Albion wins 40
Draws 33

Head to head in the league at The Hawthorns
Games played 53
Chelsea wins 19
Albion wins 21
Draws 13

Biggest league win at The Hawthorns for each team
West Brom 4-0 Chelsea
01/05/1920, 12/12/1931, 04/09/1937,
13/12/1958, 14/04/1962, 27/04/1972.
West Brom 1-4 Chelsea
30/10/2004

CHELSEA STATS
Chelsea hold the only 100 per cent away record of all 92 league clubs and the only club yet to concede a second half goal.

Chelsea's two record nine successive away league wins
2004/05

Dec 28	Portsmouth	W 2-0
Jan 1	Liverpool	W 1-0
Jan 15	Tottenham	W 2-0
Feb 2	Blackburn	W 1-0
Feb 12	Everton	W 1-0
Mar 5	Norwich	W 3-1
Apr 2	Southampton	W 3-1
Apr 30	Bolton	W 2-0
May 10	Man Utd	W 3-1

Current nine game run with 21 goals scored and only one against

Apr 5	Man City	W 2- 0
Apr 17	Everton	W 1-0
May 5	Newcastle	W 2-0
Aug 24	Wigan	W 1-0
Sep 13	Man City	W 3-1
Sep 27	Stoke	W 2-0
Oct 18	Middlesbrough	W 5-0
Oct 29	Hull	W 3-0
Nov 9	Blackburn	W 2-0

Chelsea are on the longest run in the top flight of 16 unbeaten away games. We have dropped four points out of 48 points available since the 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on December 16 2007.

Chelsea have not lost when scoring first in the Premier League since the 1-2 defeat at Tottenham in November 2006.

Chelsea's last six games

Oct 26	Liverpool H	L 0-1
Oct 29	Hull A	W 3-0
Nov 1	Sunderland H	W 5-0
Nov 4	Roma A	L 1-3 Champions League
Nov 9	Blackburn A	W 2-0
Nov 12	Burnley H	D 1-1 League Cup (lost 4-5 on pens aet)

2008/09 Premier League scorers
Anelka 10, Lampard 5 (1 pen), Belletti 2, J Cole 2, Deco 2, Kalou 2, Malouda 2, Alex 1, Bosingwa 1, Carvalho 1, own goal 1 (Wheater, Middlesbrough). Total 29.

MILESTONES
Didier Drogba's goal against Burnley made him our equal 12th all-time scorer alongside the 1930s legend Hughie Gallacher on 81. His next target is Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's 87 goals.

John Terry is due to make his 250th Premier League appearance for the club. If he scores he will become our all-time highest scoring defender with 35.

Michael Ballack, if selected, will be making his 50th Premier League appearance.

Alex, if selected, will make his 50th Chelsea appearance in all competitions.

ALBION STATS
The Baggies have picked up just one point from a last possible 15. Their last win was at home to Fulham on 4th October.

Albion have lost their last nine Premier Leagues games against the 'Big Four' since beating Arsenal at home in October 2005.

West Brom's James Morrison has scored the quickest Premier league goal this season against West Ham on 13th September after two minutes, 16 seconds. Frank Lampard's strike at Hull, timed at 2 mins 22secs, is the second fastest.

Baggies managers this decade
Brian Little Aug 1999 to Mar 2000
Gary Megson Mar 2000 to Oct 2004
Bryan Robson Nov 2004 to Sep 2006
Tony Mowbray Oct 2006 to date

Albion have been top-flight champions once in 1919/20. Their last major trophy was the FA Cup in 1968.

WEST BROM IN THE PREM

	Pts	Pos
2002/03	26	19th
2004/05	34	17th
2005/06	30	19th

MOST RECENT PREMIER LEAGUE LINE-UP
Nov 8, 2008 Liverpool (away) lost 0-3

Carson Zuiverloon        Donk         Olsson    Robinson  Koren         Greening         (c) Valero         Kim  Miller Bednar Substitutes Teixeira for Kim (56), Moore for Bednar (56), Brunt for Miller (71)  Booked Olsson

West Brom's last six games

Oct 4	Fulham H	W 1-0
Oct 18	Man Utd A	L 0-4
Oct 25	Hull H	L 0-3
Oct 28	Newcastle A	L 1-2
Nov 1	Blackburn H	D 2-2
Nov 8