West Ham look to continue their winning momentum as they face Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Both teams go into the match with an impressive run of form; Chelsea have won five of their six games since Rosenior’s arrival, and the Hammers have a winning run of three games.
West Ham’s brilliant performance against Sunderland last weekend has most likely given the players a huge boost of confidence in terms of their bid to stay in the Premier League. However, they face their toughest game on paper since Christmas when they face the Club World Cup champions.
Chelsea staged a dramatic comeback against Italian champions Napoli on Wednesday night, winning 3-2 to ensure automatic qualification for the final 16 of the Champions League. This result, paired with the fact that they won the reverse fixture 5-1 at the London Stadium, means that the Blues will enter the game with an immense amount of confidence.
Despite there being no injuries for Chelsea against Napoli midweek, it is widely expected that certain players will be rested on Saturday due to the fixture taking place only three days before the west London side travels to the Emirates for the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Rosenior confirmed that there was no possible way that star man Cole Palmer could have played 90 minutes midweek. Consequently, it is more than likely that the England international will not feature from the start again as the Blues face West Ham.
This is something the Hammers could look to take advantage of when they travel to Stamford Bridge. Furthermore, centre backs Tosin Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill remain injured.
For West Ham, Nuno Espirito Santo has not reported any injury concerns meaning the Hammers are predicted to field the same line-up for the third consecutive Premier League game.
However, West Ham fans will look forward to seeing Adama Traore feature in the squad after signing on Wednesday morning. Nuno spoke about how Traore’s energy, speed and uniqueness will be massive for West Ham in the final stages of the season.
Traore is the fourth attacker the Hammers have signed in the January window after the acquisitions of strikers Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe, plus the signing of young Venezuelan winger Keiber Lamadrid.
West Ham’s recent success has coincided with Nuno starting Pablo and Castellanos up front together. Despite neither scoring in the league so far, their excellent link up play and relentless work ethic has allowed wingers Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville to excel in recent weeks.
Summerville will be looking to score his fourth goal in as many games when he faces a solid Chelsea defence. The blues backline has only conceded 25 goals this Premier League season, the joint-third best record with Aston Villa.
In addition to a strong defensive unit, Chelsea’s attack has been impressive this season. The Blues have failed to score in only two games all season. One of Chelsea’s most impressive forwards this season has been summer signing Joao Pedro. The Brazilian 24-year-old is on a brilliant run of form, scoring four goals in his last three starts.
Pedro will be a huge challenge for the Hammers backline, who have received widespread praise in recent weeks. The partnership of Jean-Clair Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos has been particularly impressive, with both men looking as if they have finally reached the form that saw West Ham spend big money on the pair of them.
Despite the Irons defence looking solid in recent weeks, they are still without a clean sheet since August. A first clean sheet as West Ham manager for Nuno might be a necessity if West Ham are to win at Stamford Bridge and move within two points of Nottingham Forest.
Predicted Line-ups
West Ham United: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Scarles; Bowen, Soucek, Fernandes, Summerville; Pablo, Castellanos
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; James, Caicedo; Neto, Fernandez, Garnacho; Pedro
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