Chelsea
will be looking to bounce back from defeat and continue their home run
against West Ham when the two meet live on
Sky Sports this weekend.
The Blues were beaten 3-1 by Tottenham last weekend to extend the gap
between Chelsea in fifth and the top four to eight points.
However, they have not lost in 11 home Premier League games against the
Hammers (W8 D3).
Antonio Conte admits it will be tough to make a top four surge with just
seven games remaining but the Italian still wants to see his players
battling until the end.
"We have to try to do everything to continue to have the possibility to
fight for a place in the Champions League," he said. "It won't be easy, we
have to be realistic, but at the same time we have to give all of ourselves.
We must show pride, desire, will to fight until the end of the season - this
must be our target now.
"I think that everyone has to show pride, desire and a will to fight until
the end of the season. This is very important for me, for my staff and for
the players, also because the supporters deserve at least this."
West Ham have already beaten Chelsea this season though, winning the reverse
fixture 1-0 in December and handing David Moyes his first victory as Hammers
boss.
When asked if his side could do the double, he said: "I hope lightning can
strike twice and we can do it again. I've seen Chelsea quite a lot and
they're a really good team with some excellent players.
"We'll go there and give them great respect but with a game-plan to bring
points back here to West Ham. They have to win all their games as a top club
so don't think for a minute that they will switch off. We have to hope we
catch them on an off-day and we perform well. If we do, I hope we can give
them a really good game."
Team news
Conte confirmed that Chelsea duo David Luiz and Ethan Ampadu are out of
Sunday's game at Stamford Bridge, but Thibaut Courtois and Pedro "could"
feature.
West Ham's Michail Antonio will miss the game, as well as the rest of the
season, following his injury against Southampton last weekend. Moyes
confirmed Manuel Lanzini, who missed the game with the Saints, may feature.
Opta stats
Chelsea have lost five of their last seven Premier League games (W2). That's
as many as they lost in their entire title winning campaign of 2016-17 under
Antonio Conte.
The Blues haven't lost back-to-back home Premier League London derbies since
1999, when they lost 0-1 against West Ham in the March, before Kanu's
hat-trick saw Arsenal triumph 3-2 in the October.
David Moyes has won none of his 14 away Premier League games against
Chelsea, drawing six and losing eight.
Indeed, Moyes has won none of his last 29 away league games against 'big
six' sides (D9 L20), since a 2-1 win at Man City with Everton in December
2010.
Merson's prediction
It's a big game but I do fancy Chelsea. After last week, though West Ham had
a good result, it's a huge game for Chelsea.
Chelsea have to put a show on for their fans after last week against
Tottenham. That was a disaster.
Fair play to West Ham last week, to turn up in major pressure. It's
unbelievable. For me, I just think this is a game too far for them.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (5-1 with Sky Bet)
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