Luiz Felipe Scolari has called on his players to imagine that they are in the thick of a relegation battle when they face West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge this lunchtime. The Chelsea manager expects the visiting team to be fighting for their lives as they attempt to put pressure on Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League, and wants his team to show similar qualities.

Chelsea's situation could not be more different and they could end the day at the top of the table if Liverpool fail to beat Bolton Wanderers, but their need for points is equally pressing and their recent form is little better than that of West Brom. Scolari's side have won only one of their past five matches and, more worryingly, only three home league games all season, leading to the manager's call for them to go back to basics.

“West Brom are fighting for their lives because they are in a bad position,” Scolari said. “My team need to understand this and play the same, with the same spirit and if not the same spirit, some more quality. The spirit brings the quality.

“It's a difficult game, as were the others, because this season all the teams have bought good players and have good squads. From first place to last, when they play one against one, it is difficult to say who will win. This season is different.”

Scolari concedes that he has been shocked by Chelsea's indifferent from at home, which he describes as “incredible”. Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Sunderland are the only visiting sides to have experienced defeat in the league at Stamford Bridge, with Liverpool and Arsenal securing rare away wins and even struggling Newcastle United and West Ham United leaving with a point.

Chelsea have dropped 15 points in nine home matches, a far cry from their dominance under José Mourinho, when they let only two points elude them at home one season. After sticking doggedly to his preferred 4-1-4-1 formation, Scolari may be prepared to experiment in an attempt to break down West Brom and is considering pairing Nicolas Anelka with Didier Drogba from the start for the first time. “I have more options and I will try to do something different for when we start the game,” Scolari said. “The result is also important because people are asking about our home form and asking why Chelsea are finding it hard to break teams down.

“The people who are talking are talking correctly because we have lost 15 points at home. That is incredible. But the opposition close very well and sometimes we make mistakes with the last pass, make mistakes with shots, we make the wrong cross and we do not score a goal.

“West Brom have good players for counter-attacking and they play more football than other teams that I see in the Premier League. They try not to play the long ball, they try to play football. We need to score one or two goals before we can breathe easily. If not, I do not know what will happen.”

Drogba returned to training yesterday after a muscle problem, leaving Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien, a long-term cruciate victim, as the only players on the sidelines. Carvalho is back in training after a hamstring injury and could return for the FA Cup tie against Southend United on January 3 or the next weekend's Premier League visit to Manchester United.

“Didier is now ready to be starting and I have more players at my disposal,” Scolari said. “[Florent] Malouda, [Salomon] Kalou, all the players. Only Ricardo is not ready for this game.”