Team
news, stats and prediction ahead of West Ham vs Chelsea in the Premier
League on Wednesday (kick-off 8.15pm).
West Ham look likely to be without record signing Sebastien Haller once more
when they host Chelsea on Wednesday night.
The striker continues to work his way back from a hip problem. He has
resumed training and is "getting closer", according to David Moyes.
Angelo Ogbonna (hamstring) and Arthur Masuaku (ankle) have also been
training but Moyes was unsure whether they would be fit in time to be
involved against the Blues.
Chelsea will give Christian Pulisic and Andreas Christensen every chance to
prove their fitness.
Pulisic hobbled out of Chelsea's 1-0 FA Cup win at Leicester on Sunday with
a calf complaint, having fired two goals in two games since the sport's
resumption.
Christensen missed the east Midlands trip with a hip issue, but boss Frank
Lampard will give both players the chance to come through late fitness
tests.
Charlie's prediction
I think David Moyes will do what he has done recently and West Ham will sit
in, asking where will Chelsea hurt them? That will be on the counter. It
will be a bit like the Wolves game, where they did nick a couple of
opportunities and frustrated them in periods.
Pablo Fornals missed a glorious opportunity in both of those matches at 0-0,
so chances can crop up. If they do go after it, they could get picked off by
Chelsea. West Ham will sit tight and try to frustrate them.
Michail Antonio will be important as will set-pieces for West Ham, and
Chelsea can give chances away. I think they will get something from it, but
they will not be adventurous. Jarrod Bowen is a handful and should have
scored against Tottenham.
Mark Noble and Declan Rice will sit and allow Aaron Cresswell and Ryan
Fredericks to get forward. They could get something from those areas, but it
will be a good point for West Ham.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-1 (13/2 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
Following their 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in November, West Ham are looking
to complete their first league double over Chelsea since 2002-03 - a
campaign in which the Hammers were relegated from the Premier League.
Having scored in 11 consecutive away league games against West Ham between
2006-2017, Chelsea have failed to find the net in their last two visits to
face the Hammers (D1 L1).
West Ham have lost all three of their home London derbies in the Premier
League this season; they've never lost four consecutively in the
competition, last doing so in the top-flight in January 1989.
West Ham have lost their last three Premier League games, by an aggregate
score of 0-5. They last lost four in a row in September 2018, while they
last lost four in a row without scoring back in October 2006 (5 games).
Chelsea have won their last three Premier League London derbies on the road,
last having a longer such run between April-November 2009 (4).
Chelsea have scored twice or more in each of their last five Premier League
games - they last scored two or more goals in six consecutive league games
in the same season in November/December 2013, with current manager Frank
Lampard scoring in two of those games.
When not winning at half-time, West Ham have gone on to lose 16 of their
last 18 Premier League games, with the exceptions being a 1-1 draw with
Everton in January, and a 1-0 win at Chelsea in November.
West Ham have dropped a league-high 22 points from winning positions in the
Premier League this season, while only gaining one point from losing
positions themselves.
Christian Pulisic has scored seven Premier League goals this season for
Chelsea - the most of any player in the division aged 21 or younger.
Of all Premier League players to have scored at least 20 Premier League
goals, West Ham's Manuel Lanzini has scored the highest proportion of them
in London derbies (45% - 9/20).
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