East London host West London as West Ham meet Chelsea at the London Stadium.
Victory would see West Ham climb to ninth ahead of the mid-afternoon kick-offs, whilst a win would see Chelsea go second for at least a few hours.
Team News
Emerson is a doubt for West Ham after he suffered a knock in their 1-1 draw at Fulham last weekend.
Niclas Fullkrug (calf) could be in contention if he passes late fitness checks.
Chelsea could welcome Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall back from illness, which kept the pair out of the Blues’ win at Bournemouth.
Romeo Lavia (hamstring) is also set to return if fit for selection.
Malo Gusto (muscle), Omari Kellyman and Reece James (both hamstring) remain sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
West Ham host Chelsea at London Stadium on Saturday 21 September at 12:30pm, live on TNT Sport 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- West Ham have won one of their last five meetings against Chelsea (W1, D1, L3).
- Chelsea have won one of their last seven visits to the Hammers’ London Stadium (W1, D2, L4).
- Both teams have scored in four of their last five meetings at the London Stadium, except for a 1-0 away win for Chelsea in April 2021.
- No West Ham player has yet made a last-man tackle this season.
- 12 of Chelsea’s 21 shots on target this season were produced by Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke, who have both put six shots onto goal apiece.
Prediction
Having scraped a draw at Fulham through a mixture of resilient defending and a late clinical equaliser, West Ham now need to kick on if want to push for European qualification after a sluggish start to the season.
Chelsea meanwhile were lucky to win at Bournemouth because they were outclassed in terms of dominance, yet a strong defence and piece of clinical play proved the difference for them.
If both teams bring that same quality into this game then I can see a scrappy contest unfolding, and a draw might be a fair outcome.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Chelsea
Result: West Ham 0-3 Chelsea
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