England Premier League
Monday 21st December 2020
Kick off at 8pm GMT
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Match Preview:
A great and historic London derby will take place to wrap up another exciting weekend of Premier League football and you won’t want to keep your eyes off of this one.
When you look on paper, Chelsea should win and have the more technically gifted players. The Blues have been widely successful over the past 15 years and West Ham should have little to no chance. But of course football isn’t that simple.
In the space of a few weeks Chelsea have gone from possible title hopefuls to being dumped in 8th place, this is a reflection of just how strong the Premier League is. The Blues had gone an astonishing 3 months without defeat in any competition but they come into this match having lost their last 2 league games.
Chelsea were beaten by Everton and then Wolves, though the Wolves defeat really hurt given that the Blues were leading in that game and only lost in the fifth minute of injury time. All of a sudden Chelsea have fallen 9 points behind league leaders Liverpool although a win would slot the club into 5th place.
At home Frank Lampard’s side have won 50% of their games and lost just once, which was in their first home game against Liverpool. They have not been able to win 2 games in a row at home. Their last home game ended in a 3-1 victory over Leeds.
West Ham are doing well themselves and have 21 points and are in 9th place. The Hammers have only lost once in five games and that was against Manchester United. The clubs last game ended in a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace. Away from home the Hammers have done well and have won their last two matches.
Team News:
Chelsea: Hakim Ziyech is 50/50 to make this game after his hamstring. It is the same for Callum Hudson-Odoi and the pair will be assessed ahead of the game. James Reece with his knee injury is not due back for another week.
West Ham: Michail Antonio is 50/50 to return after his hamstring but he may not be risked, a late decision will be made. Fabian Balbuena is expected to be back after his minor groin injury. Arthur Maskuaka is out long term with his knee injury.
Chelsea vs West Ham Head to Head:
Last season West Ham won this fixture 1-0 and have won the last 2 league meetings against Chelsea.
Chelsea have only won once against West Ham in the last six meetings.
5 of the last six meetings have ended under 2.5 goals.
West Ham beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season but the last time before that was back in 2002.
Chelsea vs West Ham Prediction:
Will Chelsea lose 3 games in a row? The problem is that West Ham raise their game against the so called top six clubs we have seen this repeatedly in September after the Hammer’s had a horror looking run and came out of it largely unscathed.
Chelsea will have to be at their best as West Ham are going to give them a difficult game, they will let the home side play and try to counter them and the Hammers have been in strong and solid form. They come into this game with more confidence one would think.
Chelsea could be welcoming back Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi and if the duo get the nod that will inject some more pace in the team. The home side have to dictate play and show their qualities in what looks like a hard match for them but we will back the Blues. They will have extra motivation after looking at the weekend results and really need a win to stay in the mix.
Chelsea vs West Ham Betting Tips:
Chelsea to beat West Ham at 1.50
Both teams to score at 1.66
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