Thursday 11 May 2017 11:55, UK
West Brom boss Tony Pulis says Chelsea deserve to win the Premier League this season but insists his side will be no pushovers when the two teams meet this weekend.
The Blues travel to The Hawthorns on Friday night, live on Sky Sports 1 HD, knowing a victory would be enough to clinch the Premier League title with two games to spare.
Pulis has been impressed with Chelsea's marked improvement under Antonio Conte but expects his side to provide a stern test for the champions-elect.
"Firstly, I think you've got to give Chelsea, Antonio and the players great credit. They're in with a great chance of winning a double," Pulis said.
"They deserve to be where they are. They've been the most consistent team in the league this year and they come to our place with a chance of winning it.
"They deserve a helluva lot of credit but we have a responsibility to our supporters. We're still chasing a points tally that will keep us in eighth position so we have a lot to play for. We're looking forward to the game."
Pulis insists there are no plans in place to help Chelsea celebrate should they win the league at The Hawthorns, and the Baggies boss says his side will be doing their "damnedest" to delay the London club's march towards the title.
"We've not got any plans for them," he said. "We're just looking forward to a game of football. There's a lot riding on it for them and for us and we'll be doing our damnedest to make it a competitive game and a good game.
"I don't think Antonio or anyone at Chelsea will come here expecting anything different."
Pulis could be forgiven for having one eye on the upcoming summer transfer window and the former Stoke boss admits West Brom have been monitoring Charlie Taylor, who refused to play for Leeds on the final day of the Championship season amid reported interest from a number of Premier League clubs.
"There's a lot of clubs interested in Charlie Taylor, we're not the only one. He's been on our radar for a bit but it could go to a tribunal between the two clubs," said Pulis.
"Our club would rather try to sort out a deal with Leeds if we're going to do it than go to a tribunal. There's still a lot of air in that bag before anything's achieved."Pui
Pulis added: "We've not spoken to anybody at Middlesbrough about Ben Gibson and if we had, I still wouldn't tell you.
"Seriously though, we've not spoken to anyone there."
