Chelsea will welcome West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. The Blues have a good chance to come back into the top four positions in the Premier League if they are able to win this match. Even, they can come to the third position in the Premier League with a win in this match. However, they will play one more match than both of their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal after the game against West Ham United. On the other hand, Hammers have no such objectives to go into this match. So, the Blues will certainly be more determined to win this London Derby. Few months back, the match between these two sides ended with a scoreline of 0-0. This time, Chelsea will not wish to lose any point against their local rivals as a win will certainly give them the advantage of going to the third position after a long time in this season.
Team News :
Chelsea :
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is going to take part in this game as his performance in last few matches have been great for the Blues. The Blues are going all out in this match as they are having the target to finish in the top four positions in the Premier League on Monday night. Antonio Rudiger will be back in the side too. So, Andreas Christensen is going to the bench. Emerson is also in the contention to start the match, despite Alonso after coming back from injury. So, it is seeming that the Blues are going to field all their first team players in this match. Loftus-Cheek is also going to play a big role in this match for the Blues. N’Golo Kante will also have to play his best game to keep the midfielders of West Ham United busy to mark him. Jorginho will again play in the deep lying midfield position and he will control the game-play for the Blues.
Higuain will get the nod ahead of Giroud to play as the centre-forward for the Blues in this match. Pedro and Willian will also be dropped for the game to the bench. However, the performance of Callum Hudson-Odoi was really good against Brighton and Hove Albion in the last match. So, he will certainly keep his position in the attacking third for the Blues. However, Maurizio Sarri will start him despite the Europa League match on Thursday and give his more experienced players rest, ahead of this high-quality youngster.
West Ham United :
Felipe Anderson, Samir Nasri and Marko Arnautovic are all fit to start this match against the Blues. Manuel Pellegrini will have to decide whom to play. Hernandez and Lanzini get the nod ahead of Nasri, though Arnautovic in this match for the Hammers as well. His physical strength and ability will really give the Hammers the boost.
Predicted Starting Eleven :
Chelsea : (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper : Kepa
Defenders : Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Emerson.
Midfielders : Kante, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek.
Attackers : Hudson-Odoi, Higuain, Hazard
West Ham : (4-5-1)
Goallkeeper : Fabianski
Defenders : Fredricks, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell.
Midfielders : Noble, Rice, Lanzini, Anderson.
Attackers : Hernandez, Arnautovic.
My Predicted Scoreline :
Chelsea 3-0 West Ham
