West Brom vs Chelsea preview - Peace set for Baggies farewell

Posted Sunday, May 17, 2015 by PA

Boss Tony Pulis has praised West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace ahead of what could be the owner's final game at The Hawthorns.

The Baggies are up for sale with Peace looking to strike a deal before July to ensure a takeover does not drag out and harm their summer plans.

Albion host Chelsea on Monday with safety assured in the Barclays Premier League.

And Pulis believes Peace deserves credit with the Baggies set for a sixth straight top-flight season.

"He's a massive supporter of the club and he's a local lad. I've only been here five or six months but he's done a fantastic job," he said.

"The infrastructure of this club and the financial place it's in is pretty remarkable.

"He's done a wonderful job and I don't think anybody can criticise him.

"If you look at the stadium, which is fantastic, the training facilities, which are first class, the training set-up and what he's done down at the ground, he's put all of that in place.

"He hasn't just thought about what's happening on the pitch and wasted money on players.

"He's actually invested in the infrastructure and he deserves a hell of a lot of credit, whether he stays or goes.

"He's run this club the way clubs should be run."

Peace is understood to want between B£150million and B£200million for the club and Pulis knows the Baggies need investment if they want to progress.

He added: "Everybody understands the pressure that's on now, especially from clubs in the Premier League, to spend more, to invest more and everybody wants to be in the Premier League.

"It's become such a financially driven league.

"I think the chairman is looking at it and thinking he might need some help or there might be somebody out there who's got that money to help West Brom push on again."

Pulis has a fully fit squad to choose from after Callum McManaman fully recovered from his foot injury, with Saido Berahino and Brown Ideye pushing to start after being named on the bench in last week's 1-1 draw at Newcastle.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho's thirst for victory remains undiminished despite clinching the Premier League title.

"We all need to respect the game and play for the best result. We are going to try (for) the maximum possible points," said Mourinho, whose side play Sunderland on May 24.

"I'm happy that West Bromwich Albion is also champion of their league and they don't need points. So no pressure for us, no pressure for them.

"But for sure they want to win the last game at home and for sure we want to try the maximum points."

Chelsea entered the weekend's fixtures with an 11-point advantage and Mourinho is keen to reach the 90-point mark with maximum points from the final two games.

"To be champion is to be champion, one point more, one point less," he said.

"But the reality the maximum points possible, the better.

"The more distance you have to the second, the better. And we are going to try."

Diego Costa could return from his hamstring problem to boost the Blues, who could again be without goalkeeper Petr Cech (calf).

Defender Kurt Zouma is out for the rest of the campaign with a knee injury sustained against Liverpool, while Ramires (kidney) and Oscar (thigh) have also seen their seasons cut short.

Young players like Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Isaiah Brown, once of West Brom's academy, are likely to feature.