West Ham United vs Chelsea: preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

West Ham United will host Chelsea in a crucial Premier League encounter at London Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

After appointing Julen Lopetegui as the new manager to succeed David Moyes, the Hammers have endured a disappointing start to this season. They have already lost twice and won only one game thus far. They are currently 14th in the league with only four points from as many games.

The East London club will be coming into this encounter off the back of a 1-1 draw against Fulham. They were trailing in this game but eventually managed to come away with a point courtesy of Danny Ings late equaliser.

West Ham have lost both of their home fixtures in the league and they will be hoping to finally win at home under Lopetegui. But, beating Chelsea won’t be easy and they have enjoyed promising away form at the start of this term.

The Blues have won both of their away fixtures in the Premier League this season and they will be hoping to make it three out of three. Enzo Maresca’s side even managed to score six goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium. They are currently eighth in the league with seven points from four games and a victory in this encounter could push them into the top-four spot.

Despite not playing at their best, Chelsea managed to beat AFC Bournemouth last time out thanks to Christopher Nkunku’s late strike so the visitors will be coming into this fixture following a confidence boosting victory.

Neither team had to play midweek so they should be fresh and this London derby has the potential to become a cracking encounter.

Previous meetings

The East London club thrashed their city rivals 5-0 when these two sides previously met in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge last term. But, West Ham came away victorious in the reverse fixture.

Chelsea haven’t won at London Stadium since 2021 and they will be hoping to overcome their win drought at this venue this weekend.

How to watch

The game will kick off at 12:30 PM UK time and the match will be televised live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.

Match going supporters can buy West Ham vs Chelsea tickets from the club exchanges or via a trusted reseller like Seatsnet.com.

Team news

Emerson Palmieri sustained an injury last time out and is in doubt ahead of this encounter. Moreover, Niclas Fullkrug was among the absentees last weekend due to an issue that he picked up on international duty with Germany and it remains to be seen whether he returns this weekend or not.

As for Chelsea, they will be without Reece James owing to his injury issue but he is edging closer to full fitness. Moreover, Malo Gusto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia have all returned to full training after remaining sidelined in recent matches and it remains to be seen whether any of them features in this encounter or not.

Predicted line-ups

Lopetegui likes to deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to continue with the same system. Alphonse Areola is likely to continue between the sticks for the hosts and therefore, the veteran shot-stopper Lukasz Fabianski could continue on the bench.

New signing Max Kilman has started all the games for West Ham in the Premier League thus far this season and Konstantinos Mavropanos has been Lopetegui’s preferred option alongside the Englishman. The pairing should continue at the back for the Hammers in this encounter.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka is expected to be in the right-back position and Emerson Palmieri should commence on the opposite side. However, if the former Chelsea star can’t feature in this game then Wan-Bissaka may be shifted out to the left side and Vladimir Coufal could start in the right-back position.

Guido Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez should be in the engine room, pushing Lucas Paqueta in the attacking midfield role. In that case, Tomas Soucek could feature off the bench and the new deadline day arrival, Carlos Soler would have to settle for a place on the bench.

Mohammed Kudus could commence in the left flank, while Jarrod Bowen should be on the opposite side. So, Crysencio Summerville is likely to feature as a second-half substitute. Michail Antonio should be the centre-forward for the hosts in this game.

West Ham predicted line-up vs Chelsea

Areola; Coufal, Mavropanos, Kilman, Wan-Bissaka; Rodriguez, Alvarez, Paqueta; Kudus, Antonio, Bowen

Marezca has deployed the 4-2-3-1 formation in the first few matches and should go with the same system in this encounter as well. Roberto Sanchez is expected to be the goalkeeper for the West London club and in front of him, Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella are likely to be the back four for the visitors.

Renato Veiga displayed a steady performance in the engine room last time out versus Bournemouth and as a result, he could keep hold of his place in the starting eleven alongside Moises Caicedo.

Cole Palmer is set to be deployed in the number ten position and either side of the Englishman, Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke might be the two wingers for the visitors in this fixture.

Nicolas Jackson is likely to continue in the centre-forward position so despite scoring the winner last time out, Nkunku might have to make do with a place on the bench in this fixture.

Expected Chelsea line-up vs West Ham

Sanchez; Fofana, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Veiga, Caicedo, Palmer; Sancho, Jackson, Madueke

Key players

Bowen is the captain of West Ham and the onus will be on him to lead his team to victory this weekend. He has made two goal contributions in the Premier League this season and will be hoping to improve the number versus Chelsea.

Kudus, on the other hand, has displayed promising performances this season but he hasn’t been able to score or assist in the league. Therefore, he will be desperate to break his duck in this fixture.

As for Chelsea, Palmer has established himself as the talismanic figure for them after joining last summer. He has already made five goal contributions this season and the responsibility will be on him to create opportunities for the attackers.

Madueke managed to score a hat-trick versus Wolves last month but after that, he hasn’t been able to score or assist in the following two league fixtures. So, he would be keen on putting his name on the scoresheet this weekend.

After joining from Manchester United this summer, Sancho displayed an eye-catching performance in his Chelsea debut last time out and managed to register an assist. So, he will be looking to showcase his best in this encounter as well.

Prediction

West Ham haven’t been at their best early on this season so Chelsea would be the favourites to come away with all three points from this encounter. West Ham 1-3 Chelsea