I'm taking form study 
to a whole new level

As punters, we're used to examining the form of football teams and individual players but now it seems we've got to dig even deeper.

According to Jose Mourinho, Chelsea's sluggish start to the season is partly down to his own poor form.

“I'm not happy with my form because I used to get better results than I'm getting now,” the publicity-shy Blues boss explained in his Friday press conference.

Mourinho didn't reopen the tired debate over whether Chelsea's medical staff are on top of their game at the moment but who else's form should we look at before having a bet on the champions' trip to West Brom?

Is the groundsman at The Hawthorns in good nick? There's a stray weed near the centre-circle – he'll be disappointed to have missed that one.

Perhaps more significantly, Chelsea's creative stars Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas aren't firing on all cylinders and, given their poor record away at West Brom (three defeats and a draw from their last four visits), they don't look odds-on bankers to me.

Tony Pulis knows how to frustrate high-profile opponents and I'm having a small bet on the draw. Mind you, I'm not in particularly good form myself...