STAR PREVIEW Sat: West Ham United v Chelsea

Table-toppers Chelsea will be given a real test of their Premier League title credentials when they make the trip across the capital to face-off against David Moyes’ high-flying West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Despite a slight dip in their recent form, which has seen the Hammers lose two and draw one of their last three matches, Moyes’ side still sit in fourth-position; accruing 24 points after 14 league matches played.

They’ve already proven to be a bit of banana skin for the Premier League big-boys, securing big wins against Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool in the league this season as well as knocking Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup.

Michail Antonio has been one of the star men again for the Hammers, leading the line impeccably in his new number nine jersey and already grabbing six goals in 13 Premier League starts so far this season.

Chelsea will need to bring their A-game in order to avoid falling into the same trap as many of their rivals in underestimating this very well-organised, well-coached West Ham United side that are more than capable of causing an upset.

West Ham United v Chelsea
Premier League
12:30 BT Sport 1 / BT Sport Ultimate

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
APR 2021 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 0-1 Chelsea
DEC 2020 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 3-0 West Ham
JUL 2020 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 3-2 Chelsea
NOV 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
APR 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 2-0 West Ham
SEP 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 0-0 Chelsea
APR 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 1-1 West Ham
MAR 2017 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 1-2 Chelsea
DEC 2016 EFL CUP West Ham 2-1 Chelsea
AUG 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 2-1 West Ham
MAR 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 2-2 West Ham
OCT 2015 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 2-1 Chelsea

Despite largely dominating the match against Manchester United last week, a Jorginho mistake at the beginning of second-half meant a 1-1 draw was the best Chelsea could muster.

The Italian midfielder, who finished third in the recent Ballon d’Or awards recently, didn’t exactly display that world-class quality when his hideous touch on the half-way line allowed Jadon Sancho to burst through and slot home to give Manchester United a 1-0 lead at Stamford Bridge last week.

The dominance of Thomas Tuchel’s side was eventually rewarded when Jorginho redeemed himself by converting a penalty in the 69th-minute to equalise for the Blues, but there’s no doubt their German coach will have been left frustrated that his team didn’t get more from the game.

They did manage to pick up three points in their midweek fixture against Watford, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech, although Tuchel commented in his post-match interview that he felt his side were “lucky” to come away with the win.

Nevertheless, Chelsea undoubtedly have superior quality and, if they perform to the best of their abilities, should be able to make it count against West Ham on Saturday.

Recent fixtures at this ground between these two sides haven’t been high-scoring affairs and I expect that trend to continue. We’re backing Chelsea and under 2.5 goals here.

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