Chelsea vs West Ham United – Premier League Preview, Predicted Line-ups, Team News

Chelsea travel to the London Stadium for Saturday’s Premier League game against West Ham United, and you can watch this and other live football on tv this weekend via Sky Sports and BT Sports.

The Blues played out a frustrating goalless draw against Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek, but it was sufficient to see them leapfrog the Hammers to the fourth position on the table on goal difference.

They are scheduled to face the Hammers tomorrow, and the derby will be intriguing to watch with David Moyes’ side getting the better of them in two of the previous three meetings.

A victory for either side would provide a handy boost in the quest to qualify for the Champions League.

Key Stats:

The Hammers have scored 11 goals in the previous four league matches, but have been on the winning side on just two occasions. Their defence has been vulnerable in this period, conceding 10 goals with no clean sheets.

The last meeting between the clubs at Stamford Bridge finished in a comfortable 3-0 win for the Blues. The Blues managed just one win from the next five league games before Frank Lampard was sacked.

The Blues go into the weekend’s derby on the back of successive clean sheets in all competitions. They have conceded in just five of the 20 matches since Thomas Tuchel took charge in January.

Team News:

The Blues don’t have any long-term injury concerns, but they are likely to be without Mateo Kovacic, who is nursing a hamstring problem. Thiago Silva was only rested against Brighton, and he should return.

The Hammers could be without six players. Declan Rice (knee), Michail Antonio (hamstring) and Craig Dawson( one-game ban) are definitely out of contention for the derby.

Aaron Cresswell (knock), Arthur Masuako (knee) and Jesse Lingard (hamstring) may require late fitness tests to determine whether they will feature against the west London giants.

Predicted Line-ups:

Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic; Timo Werner.

West Ham United (3-4-1-2): Lukasz Fabianski; Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena; Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek, Mark Noble, Ben Johnson; Pablo Fornals; Jarrod Bowen, Jesse Lingard.

Predicted Score:

The winner will finish the weekend in fourth place in the Premier League table, and arguably with the momentum to go on and finish in that spot come the end of the season.

The Blues have created plenty of chances on goal under Tuchel, but there have been question marks over their finishing.

Despite this, we back them to do the double over the Hammers for the first time since 2014/15, considering the hosts’ defensive vulnerabilities.

Chelsea 2-1 West Ham United

Stats from Transfermarkt.com