Chelsea are set to take on West ham United at the London Stadium in what will be a clash of two teams who have picked up their game of late. With two back to back wins in the Premier League, West Ham United will be looking to go for a big kill in the match. Chelsea will be high on confidence as they come to match after beating Manchester United 4-0 clearing any possible doubt of their ability, which were raised last season.
West Ham have a decent chance of upsetting the former holders Chelsea as priorities will come to the fore.
While there is no doubt that Chelsea will not be taking the English League Cup as a priority with a strong standing at the Premier league table, the same might not be said for Slaven Bilic’s side. After a horrific start to their Premier league campaign, West Ham United have managed to win their last few games with slim margins. Hence, for them, a cup run would be something prospective.
Bilic is well aware that a win against in-form Chelsea would give a much needed boost to his side’s confidence, who have already started rejuvenating this season.
Secondly, Chelsea’s B squad, which Conte is expected to deploy against West Ham United going by their last match squad against Leicester City where players like Loftus- Cheek and Michy Batshuayi took their positions, is not sharp enough to penetrate the back line of Ogbonna, Kouyaté and Reid who have impressed of late following a change in setup by the gaffer.
Bilic plays with a similar back line of 3 defenders like that of Conte. One big need for this would be 3 players who have excellent team chemistry. The trio of Cahill, Luiz and Azpilicueta have settled well in the 3-man defence and Terry’s introduction could upset the apple-cart. This is the primary reason Conte didn’t include Terry in the United game and went with Cahill.
With Terry, Alonso and Aina expected to play at the back, West Ham forwards Dimitri Payet and Lanzini could run riot at their defence. The fact that Chelsea are finally in a better league position after a full season will really prevent Conte from risking many first team players. Chelsea’s second team needed an extra 30 minutes over the full 90 minutes to beat the Leicester City. With West Ham United, things might not go the way Chelsea want.
With Cesc Fabregas still out with his muscle injury and Conte likely to rest Pedro, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kanté from the front three, Chelsea won’t have the same cohesiveness going forward.
