Prediction: West Ham vs Chelsea

Prediction: Chelsea win

Best Odds: 4/7

Bookmaker: bet365

The Premier League returns this weekend with a vengeance, as we prepare for some of the best football to be found across Europe. One of the featured games will be West Ham United vs Chelsea, as the two London clubs prepare to do battle in a local derby. They seem to be moving in very different directions but that’s never stopped us from seeing a surprise result or two in this division, and given how many times they’ve squared off, it feels only right to suggest that we’re in for an entertaining affair.

West Ham

It’s been a rocky start to life in London for Pellegrini, but West Ham’s victory last week showcased that there is some cause for optimism. While there’s a long road ahead this Hammers side is more than capable of steering clear of the relegation zone, and they have the squad to back that theory up. They’ll need to try and frustrate Chelsea from the word go if they want to pick up a result, and they’ll need to hope for a lively crowd in order to push them over the finish line.

Team News

Arnautovic will likely continue to lead the line for the home side as their main source of goals, with Yarmolenko starting to come into his own. At the back, Zabaleta will serve as the tenacious veteran who attempts to help them carve out a surprise result.

Chelsea

While the Blues haven’t been particularly remarkable throughout the course of the season thus far, they still find themselves at the top of the Premier League table. Sarri has them playing an attractive brand of football and while City and Liverpool will certainly be on their tail from now until May, there’s no reason for them to be afraid of anyone else this season.

Team News

Kante, Jorginho and Kovacic continue to serve as the most terrifying midfield in the Premier League, and arguably across all of Europe. Willian is also expected to start although there’s a chance he could be rested after his winner in the Europa League.

Factors to Consider

• The game will be played at London Stadium.
• Chelsea lead 49-40 in the overall head to head standings, with 21 draws.
• In their last encounter back in April, the two sides drew 1-1.
• Chelsea have won all five of their PL games this season.
• West Ham have won one and lost four of their PL games this season.

Conclusion

It was nice to see West Ham get off the mark last week, but it felt like it was nothing more than a stay of execution. The Hammers can play some nice football when they piece everything together but it still feels like it’s going to take some time before we get to see that on a consistent basis. Chelsea, on the other hand, appear to be firing on all cylinders and are showing no signs of slowing down. We’re predicting a confident 3-0 win for the Blues as they continue their push for the title.

Prediction: Chelsea win

Best Odds: 4/7

Bookmaker: bet365