Chelsea
captain John Terry is fit to return to the side for the EFL Cup fourth-round
trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham on Wednesday.
The veteran centre-back has won the trophy with the Blues on three separate
occasions and will playing his first competitive game since September 11.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has vowed to play a 'strong team' but remains
without striker Andre Ayew, who is back in training following a thigh injury
sustained on the opening day of the season against Chelsea.
That match saw the Blues win 2-1 thanks to Eden Hazard and a late Diego
Costa strike, but the two sides have not met in this competition since 2004,
when Meteja Kezman scored the only goal for Chelsea.
Team news
Terry and Willian could come into Chelsea's starting XI for Wednesday's EFL
Cup fourth-round tie at West Ham.
Blues head coach Antonio Conte is likely to rotate his options, with the
likes of midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah also in contention to start.
Defenders Branislav Ivanovic and Kurt Zouma have returned to training, but
it is too soon for them to play, while playmaker Cesc Fabregas (thigh)
remains out.
Aaron Cresswell returns from suspension for West Ham while Darren Randolph,
who usually plays in cup games in place of regular No 1 Adrian, is hoping to
shake off a knee problem.
Ayew is back in training after a thigh injury but Arthur Masuaku, Sam Byram,
Gokhan Tore, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho are still sidelined.
Opta stats
Both previous League Cup meetings between these sides ended 1-0 to the home
team - West Ham winning in October 1994, with Chelsea triumphing in October
2004.
Chelsea lost on their last visit to face West Ham in all competitions (1-2
in October 2015). This will be their first visit to the London Stadium.
The Hammers have lost their last three League Cup games against fellow
Premier League sides, with the team beating them going on to win the Premier
League title that season (vs Manchester City in 2013-14 over two legs and vs
Leicester in 2015-16).
The Blues have reached the League Cup quarter-finals in four of the last
five seasons, failing only at this stage against Stoke last season.
Only Liverpool (8) have scored more EFL Cup goals among Premier League sides
than Chelsea this season (7).
Charlie Nicholas' predictions
This is another really decent game. It's been two 1-0 wins for West Ham with
Winston Reid back in team, making the difference at both ends.
If you think there's a poor atmosphere at the London Stadium then this will
test it because these Chelsea fans will make it a feisty one. This is
another game, like the Manchester derby, which is going to lack discipline.
Conte will make changes but, with the likes of Fabregas, Terry and Willian
potentially coming in, it won't be a weak Chelsea side.
Neither side will want to give up an inch and I can see this going all the
way, with West Ham winning on penalties.
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