Chelsea Odds-Against to Thrash West Ham

Written by Premiership Tips.

Betfair are offering 11/10 on Chelsea to win by 2 goals or more this weekend at Upton Park.

League leaders Chelsea have scored 14 goals without reply in their opening 3 Premier League games this season and top the Premier League as the only side with maximum points. At the other end of the table lies fellow London side West Ham United; played 3, lost 3, scored 1, conceded 9.

West Ham went down 3-0 at Old Trafford before the international break, and that came off the back of a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Bolton Wanderers. It’s been a tough start for Avram Grant since he took over from Gianfranco Zola before the summers World Cup. He inherited a poor squad of Premier League players that has seen the likes of Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Jonathan Spector and Carlton Cole struggle to compete with their opponents in the opening few games this season. Not to write them off entirely, we are only 3 games into the season and Avram Grany may need time to get his team in place.

The international break could have done West Ham a favour. Chelsea were steam-rolling their opponents before they went on leave, where first choice goalkeeper Petr Cech played in Czech Republic’s home defeat by Lithuania on Tuesday, Florent Malouda’s France went down 1-0 at home to Belarus on Friday, and Didier Drogba flew out to Ivory Coast not to take part in their 3-0 victory over Rwanda at the weekend.

A squad of international talent that saw neither John Terry or Frank Lampard play any part in England’s two victories, once this Chelsea side get back in rhythm they are capable of turning on the heat against a shaky West Ham side. The signing of Lars Jacobsen can only be seen as an improvement at right back with Jonathan Spector out of his depth in the Premier League. Although we all know how West Ham’s last signing from Blackburn Rovers, Benni McCarthy is getting on at Upton Park. It’s a scary proposition for West Ham fans to see the in-form Florent Malouda taken on their weakest side of defence, with the Frenchman scoring with all 4 shots he’s had on target this season. Not too many will be expecting Rob Green to halt that record.

Upton Park sees the best team against the worst from the opening 3 games of the 2010/11 Premier League season and I can only see one team winning between West Ham and Chelsea. The defending champions don’t do narrow victories this season, so backing them at -1.75 with Betfair at 11/10 is my pick for the weekend.