Regeln » y figured me out early." Both managers put a heavy stam

Though Chelsea have emerged as the Premier League favourite at the moment, first-year manager Antonio Conte refuses to buy into the hype as his team seeks a ninth consecutive victory Sunday against West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge.Chelsea (11-1-2) are three points clear of the field heading into this weekend after running riot in the final half-hour to rally past Manchester City 3-1 at the Etihad last weekend. The match swung just before the 60-minute mark when Citys Kevin De Bruyne had an effort hit off the crossbar and Diego Costa pulled the Blues level shortly thereafter.Costa then turned playmaker for Willians go-ahead goal on 70 minutes, and Eden Hazard secured the victory with a goal at full time. The teams then brawled following a vicious tackle by City striker Sergio Aguero on Chelsea defender David Luiz, who should have been booked in the first half for a challenge on the Argentine forward. Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas was sent tumbling over the advertising boards by Fernandinho after slapping him in the face, but his yellow card given during the match was his only punishment.Despite enjoying their longest winning streak since reeling off nine straight in 2006-07 and victories in this run over fellow top-six sides Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, Conte did not get drawn into any talk about being the team to beat as a busy December looms.Its difficult to accept this because I think we have played only 14 games, we must finish the first part of the season and then we still have the second part, the Italian said at his Friday pre-match press conference. Its always difficult to say. These next five games are a great opportunity because this league has taught me every game is very tough.Sunday is the type of game we will find difficult if we dont have the same focus as in previous matches. Weve worked very well this week and I am waiting on a good performance from my players.Chelsea have outscored opponents 22-2 during their winning streak, and it has been the return to form of both Costa and Hazard, but especially Costa, that has rapidly accelerated the timetable for success at Stamford Bridge. He has six goals and four assists during the winning and streak and has combined with Hazard to account for 12 of the 22 goals.Hes one of the best going, teammate Gary Cahill said of Costa. There was two of the best on the pitch (last weekend). Hes been fantastic for us this season, hes showing a lot of maturity and banging in the goals. Hes on fire and we hope that continues.Costa has two goals in four lifetime matches against West Brom, including the match-winner in a 2-0 victory at home Nov. 22, 2014. Hazard scored the other goal in that contest, one of three hes netted against the Baggies in seven league contests.West Brom (5-5-4) have surged to seventh in the table on the strength of a four-match unbeaten streak in which theyve won three. They could overtake Manchester United for sixth with a win here and a loss by the Red Devils to Tottenham Hotspur.First-half goals by Jonny Evans and Chris Brunt sparked West Brom to a 3-1 victory over Watford at The Hawthorns last Saturday, with Matt Phillips sealing the victory with a goal in stoppage time. The Baggies have scored 10 goals during their unbeaten run -- equaling their haul from the first 10 matches of the season.I think that getting Mozza (James Morrison) and Brunty back is almost like two new signings and Nacer Chadli has come in, captain Darren Fletcher told the teams official website about the key to West Broms recent success. Were getting the ball into the box and attacking a lot more and a lot better. I think its just a combination of things.Before the Leicester game we looked at the table and we were fourth from bottom and had been sucked right back in because we played last but we have responded to that and made that the benchmark. We speak every week about the standards that need to be set and we have achieved that in most games since then.Morrison, though, and veteran defender Gareth McAuley are trying to shake off injuries to be available for this contest. The 37-year-old McAuley has not missed a minute at centre back, and his absence would be a huge blow in trying to contain Costa.Though the Baggies are 3-3-14 all-time versus Chelsea in the Premier League era, all three wins have come since 2012. They gave the Blues fits last season, falling 3-2 at The Hawthorns before nicking a point at Stamford Bridge in a 2-2 draw on James McCleans goal in the 86th minute.That was their second draw in three trips to the London side, and while manager Tony Pulis concedes his team is the underdog, theres no reason to lack confidence in getting another point or even three this time around.Chelsea have all the advantages. They have the squad, the stadium, the crowd, they are in great form -- all will be against us (Sunday). Everyone will expect them to win, he said. But its a chance for my boys to puff out their chests, get out there and not be frightened by it. No game is settled before the kickoff and we can win.Custom Todd Helton Jersey . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Custom Rockies Jersey China .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. http://www.customrockiesjersey.com/ . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Pat Valaika Jersey Large . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Rockies Jerseys China . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta.ST. LOUIS -- Just a few days ago, the St. Louis Cardinals had no wins when trailing after eight innings and just one extra-inning victory. They certainly showed the Pittsburgh Pirates they can go the extra mile. "We did a good job of bouncing back," said Matt Holliday, who hit a game-ending RBI single in the 12th inning of St. Louis 6-5 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday. "Winning this game could be very important for us." Matt Carpenter had four hits and scored the winning run in the Cardinals second extra-inning triumph over the NL Central leaders in three days. "Anytime having a walk-off win, its a big deal," manager Mike Matheny said. "Jumping on it again it today is just the resiliency of this club. "You could sense it on the bench. The guys werent going to give in, werent going to stop pushing." The Cardinals took two of three in the series to pull within two games of the sagging Pirates, who have dropped five of six. St. Louis won 4-3 in 14 innings in the opener on Tuesday night. "We had a number of guys that had opportunities," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "The great thing about what were going through is the challenge and opportunities were all getting. "Its playoff atmosphere baseball." The Cardinals lost the division lead when they dropped four of five in Pittsburgh from July 29-Aug. 1. Rookie Kevin Siegrist (1-1), St. Louis seventh pitcher, struck out two in a perfect 12th against the heart of the order. Russell Martin and Clint Barmes homered for Pittsburgh, which blew a 4-0 lead in one inning. Jose Tabata had three straight hits after entering as a pinch hitter. Carpenter sparked the winning rally with a one-out walk. He went to third on Jon Jays single before Holliday grounded a single up the middle off Bryan Morris (5-6). Carpenter, the Cardinals leadoff man, leads the National League with 48 multihit games and 40 doubles. He entered with league-leading averages oof .dddddddddddd366 at home and .367 in day games. Holliday also had an RBI double and is batting .452 during a 12-game hitting streak. Martin hit a tying leadoff drive off Trevor Rosenthal in the eighth, handing the setup man his second blown save of St. Louis 4-6 homestand. The Pirates hit for the cycle against Lance Lynn in a four-run fifth that featured rookie Andrew Lambos first hit and RBI on a double and Barmes two-run homer. The Cardinals responded by knocking out A.J. Burnett with five runs in the bottom half on a two-run single by Daniel Descalso and RBIs in consecutive at-bats from Carpenter, Jon Jay and Holliday. "As good as it looked early, its never easy against this group," Burnett said. "They figured me out early." Both managers put a heavy stamp on the game. Hurdle hit for two regulars in the sixth and emptied his bench, and Matheny used three relievers in the sixth and seventh. St. Louis activated All-Star catcher Yadier Molina from the 15-day disabled list, and he announced his presence almost immediately. He threw out Starling Marte trying to steal third to end the first. NOTES: The Pirates begin a three-game homestand Friday against the Diamondbacks. Pittsburgh rookie Gerrit Cole (5-5, 3.95 ERA), who opposes Brandon McCarthy (2-6, 4.73 ERA) in the opener, has lost five of his last six decisions. ... The Cardinals open a three-game series at Chicago, with St. Louis Jake Westbrook (7-7, 4.11 ERA) opposing minor league callup Jake Arrieta. It will be Westbrooks first appearance since giving up nine runs in 4 2-3 innings of relief on three days rest after Shelby Miller was knocked out by a liner off his elbow on his second pitch of the game. ... Cardinals reliever Seth Maness, who grounded into a double play and struck out to strand five runners Tuesday night, got his first career hit in the sixth. ... Pirates reliever Tony Watson worked three scoreless innings and retired the heart of the order in the 10th. ' ' '