West Ham United vs. Chelsea: Go for goals as Blues go for revenge
Chelsea make the trip from West to East London to take on West Ham United in a capital derby of huge significance at both ends of the table on Wednesday night.
The visitors have returned from lockdown in winning form, whereas the Hammers have lost two from two so far to plunge their Premier League survival hopes into even greater doubt.
The Hammers are currently 17th but only sit ahead of Bournemouth and Aston Villa – who are below them in the relegation zone – on goal difference. To make matters worse, David Moyes‘ men have lost each of their last three Premier League games without scoring a single goal.
Chelsea, are probably one of the last sides West Ham could wish to face right now. Frank Lampard‘s team has been excellent since the resumption of play, beating Aston Villa and Manchester City 2-1 to remain in fourth place, while they overcame Leicester City 1-0 last time out to reach the FA Cup semi-finals. That completes a run of five wins from five for the Blues, who have conceded just two goals during that time.
West Ham’s relegation fears have increased after resuming their season with back-to-back defeats, making it five losses from their last six games. They have failed to score in the last three matches, having started life after lockdown with a 2-0 defeat at home to Wolves and going down by the same scoreline at Tottenham.
There is little sign of improvement either. Having started the season with three clean sheets in their first six games, the Hammers are now conceding far too easily and have not kept the opposition out since beating Bournemouth 4-0 on New Year’s Day.
Chelsea will make the short trip across the capital boosted by their 1-0 win against Leicester at the weekend to reach the FA Cup semi-finals. Ross Barkley’s third FA Cup goal of the season was enough to secure victory but Lampard has demanded an improvement from his side.
Chelsea will certainly be bigger favourites to beat West Ham than Leicester are to beat Everton, although the Hammers are approaching must-not-lose territory themselves.
Chelsea may have only won one of the last five meetings between these two sides, but the formbook points at there only being one result in this one.
Chelsea are enjoying one of their best runs of the season, whereas for West Ham it is difficult to see where the next win is coming from. They need one as soon as possible if they are to get themselves away from trouble, but it would be a surprise to see it come in this match.
Chelsea O 6.5 (Team Corners) @ 2
