West
Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini is hopeful Marko Arnautovic will be fit to
face Chelsea on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Arnautovic was substituted in the second half of West Ham's 3-1 victory at
Everton last weekend with a knee problem, but Pellegrini is confident the
Austria international will be fit for the Renault Super Sunday clash.
"Marko finished with a problem behind his knee,'" the West Ham boss told
reporters at his pre-match press conference on Thursday. "We will see if he
is fit for Sunday. He played well against Everton and we hope he will
recover."
Meanwhile, Pellegrini, whose side picked up their first win of the season
last weekend at Everton, insists West Ham must show confidence when they
take on Chelsea.
"It's impossible to start better than Chelsea," he said. "They've won all
five Premier League games.
"Every game is different in the Premier League. We must be confident that we
can play at home or away in the same way that we tried to do in the last
game. We need to concentrate in defence, because they have very good players
that can make the difference in small spaces. But I am confident that our
team can play a good game."
Chelsea's preparations for Sunday's game have been disrupted after they were
forced to delay their return from Greece.
The Blues had planned to fly out straight after Thursday's 1-0 win at PAOK
but adverse weather conditions in the UK saw Chelsea postpone their return
flight until Friday lunchtime.
Two players unaffected by the delay were Eden Hazard and David Luiz. The
pair were rested for the trip to Greece as Maurizio Sarri made five changes
for the Europa League Group L win, rotating his options ahead of a busy
period.
Team news
Javier Hernandez (flu) is a doubt, while Jack Wilshere (ankle) is sidelined
after surgery. Andy Carroll, Manuel Lanzini and Winston Reid remain
long-term absentees.
Pedro, who sustained a shoulder injury in Thursday night's victory at PAOK,
is a major doubt for Chelsea's trip to West Ham.
Manuel Pellegrini says there is more to come from Andriy Yarmolenko
following his impressive display in West Ham's 3-1 win over Everton
Opta stats
West Ham have won three of their last six Premier League home games against
Chelsea (W3 L3), this after previously enduring a six-game winless run (D1
L5).
The Hammers ended a 11-game run of conceding against Chelsea at home in the
league when they won 1-0 in December - they last kept successive clean
sheets at home versus the Blues in August 1969.
Only Arsenal (123) have won more Premier League London derbies than Chelsea
(121), while West Ham have lost more than any other side in the competition
(95). West Ham are without a win in a Premier League London derby since
beating Chelsea in December; since then they've drawn four and lost two.
Chelsea are looking to win their opening six games to a Premier League
campaign for the third time (after 2005-06 and 2009-10) - no other side has
done it more than once in the competition. The Blues have won the league on
both previous occasions they've won their first six.
West Ham have lost both of their Premier League games at the London Stadium
in 2018- 19 - they've never lost their first three home games in a league
season before.
Eden Hazard has either scored or assisted a goal in each of his last five
Premier League appearances - he's never done so in six consecutive games
before.
Marko Arnautovic has been directly involved in 80% of West Ham's five
Premier League goals this season (3 goals, 1 assist).
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri could become only the third manager to win his
first six Premier League games in charge, after Carlo Ancelotti and Pep
Guardiola.
Olivier Giroud has been directly involved in nine goals in his 10 Premier
League games against West Ham (6 goals, 3 assists) - against no side has he
been involved in more in the competition.
Merson's prediction
I fancied West Ham last week, I couldn't see them getting beat at Everton. I
thought they would be better away from home this season and would struggle
at home. But this game looks after itself, Chelsea at home, the fans will be
right behind them.
But I just don't think they can live with Eden Hazard. West Ham will have
their spells in the game but it won't be enough. Hazard is up there with the
best in the world at the moment.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-3 ()
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