Chelsea vs West Ham United : Preview.
After an absence from league duty last weekend Chelsea dropped down to second in the table but a win over West Ham this Saturday will see them go back to the top of the table for a day at least. In contrast West Ham find themselves in a relegation battle and any points that come their way now are vital especially points against clubs like Chelsea where they aren’t really expecting to get anything from the game.
In their last Premier League outing Chelsea were shocked by Man City as they lost 4-2 at Stamford Bridge so they will look to fair better when West Ham visit this weekend. The last time that West Ham visited Chelsea they came away with a point after securing a 1-1 draw, a result which former Chelsea favourite and now West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola will snatch at given the opportunity.
While the odds are firmly stacked against West Ham they may just fancy their chances with Chelsea having slipped up in recent weeks and with a massive Champions League tie with Inter Milan to focus on midweek Chelsea will be forgiven for taking their eye off the ball a bit this weekend.
Looking at the West Ham away record this season however it doesn’t bode well for them. On the road West Ham have came away with all three points just once this season and with Chelsea having such a strong home record the Hammers fans can’t be too optimistic going into this one.
On the injury front both clubs have their fair share of problems. Of the two West Ham will perhaps be the team who struggle more due the strength in depth that Chelsea have.
Herita Ilunga and Julien Faubert are doubts for West Ham while Mark Noble is a definite absentee. Zavon Hines and Luis Boa Morte will also miss out with injury. There is some good news for West Ham however in that Junior Stanislas and Jack Collison have been back in training this week and Keiron Dyer may get the nod to start against Chelsea after completing nearly a full half against Bolton.
As for Chelsea long-term absentees Michael Essien and Deco remain on the injury table so are unable as is Ricardo Carvalho however he is pushing for a return sooner rather than later. Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Jose Bosingwa and Yuri Zhirkov will also all miss out in facing West ham through injury. On the plus side for Chelsea however will be the return of Michael Ballack and Juliano Belletti after serving suspensions.
Match Highlights
Watch highlights of the English Premier League match
(Chelsea vs West Ham United) here, right now.
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