West Ham welcome Chelsea to London Stadium in a pivotal London derby encounter.
Victory would see West Ham climb to 14th position in the table ahead of the mid-afternoon kick-offs, whilst Chelsea can go eighth with a win.
Team News
Thilo Kehrer is ruled out for West Ham with a hamstring injury suffered during their 1-1 draw at Newcastle last weekend.
Alphonse Areola (hamstring) is unlikely to be involved but Kurt Zouma (quad), Maxwel Cornet (calf) and Gianluca Scamacca (knee) remain absent.
Chelsea could welcome Joao Felix back into contention following his completion of a three-match suspension.
Denis Zakaria (quad), Mateo Kovacic (calf) and Raheem Sterling (knock) are doubts and won’t be risked unless declared match fit by club doctors.
Edouard Mendy (shoulder/finger), Wesley Fofana (knee), N’Golo Kante (hamstring), Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja (both knee) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
West Ham host Chelsea at London Stadium on Saturday 11 February in a 12:30pm GMT kick-off, live on BT Sport.
Stat Attack
- West Ham have won just one of their last five meetings against Chelsea (W1, L4).
- Chelsea have won just one of their last five visits to West Ham (W1, D1, L3).
- West Ham have won two of their last three home clashes against Chelsea by 3-2 result, except for 1-0 loss in April 2021.
- Each of West Ham’s last three home matches have been settled by 2-0 results, with the Hammers only winning one of those three games (W1, L2).
- Chelsea are unbeaten in two of three away London derbies this season (W1, D1, L1).
Prediction
With just one loss in their last six games, West Ham do seem to be on an upward trend despite still flirting with relegation, yet did well to snatch a draw at Newcastle with a clinical attacking performance despite initial sloppy defending which improved throughout.
Chelsea meanwhile have drawn blank in their last two matches despite scraping goalless draws so will be eager to get back on the goal trail, especially after their end product let them down against Fulham last weekend in an otherwise positive attacking performance.
This game therefore is important for both teams but if West Ham can make a good start defensively, I can see them frustrating Chelsea enough to snatch a point, especially given that the Blues haven’t fared particularly well in their recent visits to the London Stadium.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Chelsea
Result: West Ham 1-1 Chelsea
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