West Ham v Chelsea – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

West Ham face Chelsea at the London Stadium on Saturday evening in a massive match in the race for a top four place in the Premier League. David Moyes’ side have had a brilliant season and sit fifth in the table, level on points with Thomas Tuchel’s side but below them on goal difference. With Liverpool lurking ominously behind these sides, a draw isn’t a particular help to either of them.

West Ham Form

The Hammers had a superb start to 2021 as they won seven and draw one of their first nine league matches of the year. Although the fixture list was kind to them, Moyes’ side did win away at Everton and Aston Villa and at home to Tottenham during that run.

Since then, it’s been harder going as the fixtures have become tougher. A 2-1 loss at Man City, a 1-0 defeat at Man Utd and a 3-3 home draw with Arsenal (having led 3-0) were some tough results. West Ham hit back to win 3-2 at Wolves and 3-2 at home to Leicester. In their last match, they came back from 2-0 down with ten men at Newcastle to level at 2-2 but conceded a late winner.

West Ham Team News

Moyes has some big players unavailable for this match. Craig Dawson is suspended at centre back after his red card against Newcastle whilst Declan Rice is injured in midfield. Mark Noble will cover for the latter, whilst Fabian Balbuena may get a rare start in Dawson’s place.

Aaron Cresswell is doubtful at left wingback but could be back in time to start but Michail Antonio is out injured. Moyes is expected to use a 3-5-2 shape again with Jesse Lingard and Jarrod Bowen forming the front two.

West Ham Motivation

A draw keeps West Ham in the race and with all their injuries, they would probably take a point right now if offered it. However, with Liverpool in close proximity and Chelsea having a better goal difference, West Ham need a win to have a realistic shot of ending in the top four.

Expect the Hammers to get bodies forward when they attack but to sit in a 5-3-2 shape when defending. There have been a lot of goals in West Ham’s recent matches with their backline not really strong enough to absorb pressure.

Chelsea Form

Chelsea’s form of late has been a bit mixed. After going 14 matches without defeat under Tuchel, they lost 5-2 to West Brom before a 2-0 win away to Porto. A 4-1 win at Crystal Palace followed before a 1-0 loss to Porto.

Tuchel’s side bounced back to beat Man City 1-0 in the FA Cup semi final but drew their last match 0-0 at home with Brighton. Having had a run with 12 goals scored in five matches, they’ve since netted just once in their three matches.

Chelsea Team News

Chelsea rested several players against Brighton and all should return to start this match. That includes Edouard Mendy in goal, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta in defence, Ben Chilwell at wingback and N’Golo Kante in midfield.

Mateo Kovacic is still out injured to reduce midfield options. Timo Werner should start in attack with Kai Havertz most likely to be left on the bench after ineffective recent performances against Porto and Brighton.

Chelsea Motivation

Chelsea will play to win this match. They tend to do that under Tuchel by being defensively solid and aiming for a clean sheet first and foremost and relying on individual magic or opposition errors to score.

A draw would not be a disaster but the side faces Leicester soon and have Liverpool on their coat-tails as well as West Ham.

Key Stats

West Ham have seen over 4.5 goals in each of their last 4 PL matches

West Ham have kept 1 clean sheet in their last 8 PL matches

The Hammers have lost 3 of their last 7 PL matches

Chelsea have kept 15 clean sheets in their last 20 matches

Chelsea have lost 2 of their last 20 matches in all competitions (13 wins, 5 draws)

Chelsea have seen under 2.5 goals in 14 of their last 16 matches in all competitions

Prediction

Chelsea look favourites to win this match against an injury-hit West Ham. Despite the wrath of goals in recent Hammers matches, this one is more likely to be low scoring.