Team
news and stats ahead of Chelsea vs West Ham in the Premier League on Monday,
live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm.
Team news
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech will face late fitness tests ahead of
Chelsea's Premier League clash with West Ham on Monday.
The wingers have both been sidelined with hamstring problems, but were back
in full training for the first time on Friday.
Boss Frank Lampard will run the rule over both players at the last minute
though, to see whether they will be ready to face the Hammers.
West Ham will check on Michail Antonio and Fabian Balbuena.
Antonio is battling to recover from the hamstring injury which has kept him
out of the last three matches and Balbuena missed Wednesday's 1-1 draw
against Crystal Palace due to a minor knock.
Arthur Masuaku is out following knee surgery.
Jones Knows prediction
Some may have this down as another banana skin for Chelsea. Not me.
Frank Lampard has so many attacking options available to him, it's easy for
him take an out-of-form player out of the limelight and replace him with a
top-quality replacement. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have looked a little
jaded in recent weeks so freshening it up with Callum Hudson-Odoi or Hakim
Zieych should kick Chelsea back into gear. Plus, Christian Pulisic showed
moments of real quality in the defeat at Wolves - he might be about to hit
top form.
This is going to sound ridiculous after what he did on Wednesday night, but
West Ham won't be going anywhere fast with Sebastien Haller leading the
line. In games where they have to sit back, his hold up play isn't anywhere
near the levels of Michail Antonio, who makes the pitch so big for West Ham
and takes the pressure of his defenders.
In fairness, the Hammers have won four of the last six games with Haller
leading the line so I might be talking complete nonsense. However, they
lacked imagination against Crystal Palace and in the win over Aston Villa -
a theory backed up by a combined xG figure of just 1.08 in those matches. No
problems for Chelsea expected.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 2-0 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
Chelsea have lost just one of their last 14 Premier League home games
against West Ham (W9 D4), though it was in this exact fixture last season
(0-1). They've not lost back-to-back home league games against the Hammers
since February 1996.
West Ham won home and away against Chelsea in the Premier League last
season, and are looking to win three in a row against the Blues in the
top-flight for the first time since a run of four between September 1972 and
March 1974.
Chelsea have lost their final league match before Christmas in just two of
their last 30 seasons (W19 D9), losing to Leeds United in 1999 and Leicester
City in 2018.
West Ham's final league match before Christmas last season was a 1-0 win
over Southampton - the Hammers haven't gone into Christmas with a win in
consecutive seasons since doing so three years in a row between 1978 and
1980.
When scoring at least once, Chelsea have lost just one of their last 38
Premier League home games (W27 D10), with that defeat coming at the hands of
Liverpool last season (1-2). The Blues are unbeaten in their last 16 league
games in which they've scored at Stamford Bridge (W14 D2).
Chelsea have lost their last two Premier League games, with the Blues last
losing three in a row in the competition back in November 2015.
West Ham have gained five points from losing positions in the Premier League
this season, including their 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace last time out.
The Hammers only won five points from behind in the whole of the 2019-20
campaign.
West Ham have won their last two Premier League away games, as many as they
had in their previous 14 on the road (D3 L9). The Hammers last won three
consecutively on the road in the competition back in December 2018.
Frank Lampard is looking to avoid becoming the first Chelsea manager to lose
his first three league encounters with West Ham, while only three managers
have lost their first three Premier League games against the Hammers: Danny
Wilson (1997-98), Sean Dyche (2014-16) and Ralph Hasenhüttl (2018-19).
West Ham manager David Moyes has never won a Premier League match at
Stamford Bridge (P15 D7 L8) - the only instance in Premier League history of
a manager taking charge of more games at a stadium without winning is Moyes
himself at Anfield (16 games).
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