Chelsea and West Ham United both head into this weekend’s London derby on the back of Premier League defeats by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur last weekend respectively, but they appear to be clubs heading in very different directions.
The Blues are a revived force under Frank Lampard, who overcame a slow start to life at his beloved Stamford Bridge to guide them into the Champions League spots.
Did you know you can watch Showmax without a DStv subscription?
Considering the struggles of Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, the Pensioners appear a strong bet to finish in the top four places this term—a remarkable achievement for a rookie manager operating under a transfer ban.
His Hammers counterpart Manuel Pellegrini, by contrast, spent money during the offseason, but the vultures are circling as doubts begin to grow around his suitability for the job following a miserable run of form.
Getty
Chelsea vs West Ham team news
After returning to the side for the defeat by Tottenham, expect Angelo Ogbonna to continue in the heart of West Ham’s defence at the expense of underperforming Fabian Balbuena, although Pellegrini may well cut underperforming goalkeeper Roberto.
David Martin could come in for the Spaniard, who endured a torrid afternoon against Spurs, while the Chilean coach may also drop Declan Rice into the backline as cover for the suspended Issa Diop, with Colombia international Carlos Sanchez coming into the midfield.
Michail Antonio isn’t at full fitness just yet but may be risked from the start after making a goalscoring impact off the bench against Spurs.
Claim your 14-day free trial and livestream Chelsea vs West Ham United. Sign up at www.showmax.com
Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger has returned to training but is only expected to return to action in December, while three first-teamers missed the midweek trip to Valencia.
None of Ross Barkley, Marcos Alonso and Callum Hudson-Odoi were risked to travel to Spain, and it remains to be seen if they’ll be available for the weekend’s derby.
Getty Images
Chelsea vs West Ham key facts and stats
Chelsea haven’t been defeated by West Ham in their last 13 top-flight meetings with the Hammers at Stamford Bridge, with the East Londoners actually winning only one of their last seven bouts—home or away—with their city rivals.
The momentum is certainly with the Blues, who have won their last three matches in front of their home fans without conceding a single goal, while no other London club have won more points in derbies between the capital’s sides than Chelsea.
Worryingly, for the Hammers, they haven’t won in their last seven matches, conceding three goals in all of their last three matches.
The Hammers have twice lost four consecutive matches in the Premier League while conceding three goals in each but would become the first to suffer this ‘feat’ on three separate occasions if Chelsea put three past them in a winning performance this weekend.
Getty Images
Chelsea vs West Ham predictions
It’s hard to look beyond Chelsea for this fixture, with the Blues enjoying both the recent and the longer-term advantage over the Irons.
Considering the context of this current campaign, certainly, Chelsea are overwhelming favourites, with Lampard’s side enjoying a fine run of form—excluding last weekend’s defeat by City—which comes in stark contrast to their opponents.
If West Ham cannot summon something from this—a particularly low ebb—then the days of Pellegrini may be numbered, but will Lampard’s Pensioners be the ones to bring the curtain down on his underwhelming tenure at the London Stadium?
