Chelsea host West Brom in the lunchtime kick-off in the Premier League eager to cement their place inside the top four ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Porto in Seville.
Thomas Tuchel’s side, who eased past Sheffield United in the FA Cup last time out, have a two-point advantage to West Ham, who sit in fifth, and one additional point over Tottenham, who are sixth. While the Baggies appear destined for relegation back to the Championship now, with 10 points between them and Newcastle in 17th.
But Sam Allardyce, whose side suffered a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace before the international break, will not be giving up just yet and will hope to make it difficult for the Blues at Stamford Bridge, while Tuchel has been discussing Timo Werner’s recent struggles, having missed a glorious chance for Germany to spark criticism from Joachim Low, but the national team boss’ compatriot said: “This guy has scored goals since he was five years old, and he never stopped, so he can trust that his brain and his body remembers to do that because it is absolutely usual for him to score. So it will come back; it is just a matter of time.
“But it is much easier said than done because for me this is the moment not to think about it and not to read about it, and not even to train extra. Yesterday I sent him in from training because he wanted to do some finishing with us. I just sent him in. I said ‘you don’t need that, your body, your brain knows how to score; you did it since you were five years old so don’t worry, it will come’.
“Don’t overthink it. It is very easy for me to say because we aren’t out there and everybody is pointing fingers at him, but this is the challenge right now. This is how I see it. He will start tomorrow and here we go.”
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