Roberto Di Matteo is relishing the prospect of taking his newly-promoted West Brom side to Stamford Bridge for the 2010/11 season opener with his former club Chelsea.

The Italian, who is fondly remembered by Blues fans for two FA Cup final goals, on Thursday discovered his Baggies side will travel to Chelsea when the Blues open the defence of their title on August 14.

"It's certainly a challenging start," Di Matteo said.

"But having the chance to play at grounds like Stamford Bridge, Anfield, the Emirates and Old Trafford is exactly what we battled so hard for last season.

"It will be the coaching staff's job to get the players as best prepared as possible for the challenges that lie ahead.

"We'll certainly need to hit the ground running as opening fixtures don't come much tougher than Chelsea away. They finished last season with an 8-0 win and have got top quality throughout their squad, but we will go there with a plan with a view to giving them a real game."

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.