West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Chelsea: Tony Pulis under more pressure
Tony Pulis' position at West Brom looks increasingly under threat after Chelsea inflicted the joint-heaviest defeat of his near three-year reign at The Hawthorns.
A brace from Eden Hazard and efforts from Alvaro Morata and Marcos Alonso saw the Blues coast to victory, their fourth successive triumph in the Premier League, at the venue where they clinched the title six months ago.
Chelsea can be backed at 20/1 with Sky Bet to win the title for the second season in a row.
Pulis had said on Friday he would understand if he was axed following a run of poor recent results and this defeat, which took them to 11 games without a victory, was witnessed by Chinese owner Guochuan Lai and a home crowd that delivered their verdict with a loud chorus of 'Pulis out' at the end.
Sky Bet make Pulis the odds-on favourite at 2/5 in their next Premier League manager to leave odds.
Post-match reaction
Tony Pulis admitted his future rests with West Brom's owners after the joint-heaviest defeat of his tenure.
"The big thing is, this is not about me, the chairman, the owners or anything like that, it's about the football club and what is the right decision for the football club," Pulis said.
"This club will be here well past when you've gone, I've gone, it's about doing the right thing for the football club.
"I've been in the game long enough to know if you get bad runs then that's what happens.
"They have to make a decision. I met with the Chinese owners on Friday night, they are wonderful people but I know, as well as everyone else, you have to get results, that's what it's about."
Asked if he was keen to stay, Pulis replied: "I think the important thing is the decision made is the right decision for the football club; that's not going to be my decision, that's going to be obviously the owners' (decision).
"It's not my decision whether I think (I'll stay) or don't think, it's what happens."
Chelsea have been dealt an unfair hand by schedule makers in comparison to Premier League leaders Manchester City, according to boss Antonio Conte.
The Blues won their fourth successive league game on Saturday, but still trail Pep Guardiola's City by nine points after they beat Leicester to make it 16 wins on the bounce in all competitions.
One of those came at Stamford Bridge in late September, three days after the Blues had beaten Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, and four days on from City's win, at home, against Shakhtar Donetsk in the same competition.
It is a game that could prove pivotal in the title race and the circumstances surrounding are grating with Conte, who addressed it after Chelsea's demolition of the Baggies.
"For sure it was a pity to play against Manchester City after only two days (rest) when we played against Atletico Madrid away," he said.
"We came back at five o'clock in the morning on Thursday and we played on Saturday against Manchester City. For this reason, I think sometimes whoever prepares this type of fixtures must pay more attention and to give all the teams the same possibility.
"I think in the game against Manchester City one team was favourite and it was a pity because then you can see that you can stay very close - if you win against Manchester City, the distance is not nine points."
Related links
MOST READ FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL TIPS
