WEST BROM meet Chelsea on Saturday at The Hawthorns. Ben Ragg (@Punters_Corner_) is on-hand to deliver his favourite fancies.
West Brom vs Chelsea | Saturday 26th September 2020, 15:00 | Sky Sports
Chelsea travel to The Hawthorns on the back of a 6-0 thrashing in the week, albeit against a Barnsley side who were all over the place. The man who grabbed the headlines was Kai Havertz with the German hitting a hat-trick which will be a confidence booster after supposedly struggling to adapt to the English game after two unconvincing displays.
West Brom were 5-2 losers against Everton last time but the scoreline doesn’t tell the full story. The Baggies started the game really well and were the best team in the first half hour, good value for their 1-0 lead. The main turning point came when Kieran Gibbs was sent off just before half-time; despite Matheus Pereira’s brilliance, Albion struggled with 10 men.
Slaven Bilic’s men should take confidence from their good showing in the first half though. With Gibbs suspended, Conor Townsend is likely to replace him. He’s an aggressive full back who is not afraid to get stuck in, averaging 2.9 tackles per-game last season when starting.
Townsend will be busy defensively against Chelsea this weekend and will have Reece James and one of Mason Mount or Havertz to deal with. Ladbrokes have priced up 3+ Tackles at 13/8 which is an appealing price for someone with such a high tackle average last season.
The next bet I like is around £72m-man Havertz. Since the turn of the year, the German has scored 18 and assisted eight in all competitions which is staggering for someone who turned 21 in the summer. West Brom have shipped eight goals in their first two league games and after a midweek hat-trick I am sure Havertz will be fancying his chances. So I like the look of Havertz is Havertz to score and assist, which is priced at 9/1 with Unibet.
The final angle I for me is centered on Baggies’ star man Pereira. Pereira carries Albion’s best chance of scoring ,whether it be creating or notching himself.
Pereira averaged 2.8 shots per-game last season and regularly shoots from distance when he gets half a yard of space. He is also primary free-kick taker and there’s no chance he will be taken off them after his sensational strike last week.
The West Brom lynchpin averages 2 shots per-game already in the Premier League this term, so I was surprised to find 2+ Shots priced at 4/5 with Bet365. The next best price is 4/9 so there is real value here.
Best Bets
West Brom vs Chelsea – Conor Townsend 3+ tackles (13/8 Ladbrokes)
West Brom vs Chelsea – Kai Havertz to score and assist a goal (9/1 Unibet)
West Brom vs Chelsea – Matheus Pereira 2+ shots (4/5 Bet365)
