In what will be the first derby match in the Olympic Stadium/London Stadium, West Ham will host Chelsea tonight in the EFL Cup round of 16 tie. Chelsea have been in fine form and high on confidence after a little period of a mini crisis when they had to deal with two quick losses against Liverpool and Arsenal in the Premier League.
After last week’s excellent performance which was reflected in the final score, Antonio Conte’s men would be very high on confidence. West Ham also have experienced back to back victories in the Premier League after a string of poor results and the Hammers are now slowly coming back to their shape, gaining confidence from their wins against Crystal Palace and Sunderland.
Team News
West Ham have good news regarding two of their absentees as Aaron Cresswell, will be back again after his red card against Crystal Palace and record signing Andre Ayew would also be available after returning to first team training. Striker Andy Carroll will be out, however, after suffering a setback while working toward a return from his ankle injury along with the likes of Arthur Masuaku, Diafra Sakho, Gokhan Tore and Sam Byram who will not be available for the game.
Chelsea would be welcoming back their captain John Terry, who is likely to start the game at the heart of the defence. Willian and Oscar, are also in contention to feature after both the players suffered the loss of a family member this month and only returned from Brazil last week after the club granted them special leave.
Cesc Fàbregas and Branislav Ivanovic are doubtful with their thigh and muscle injuries to be assessed before the game respectively while defender Kurt Zouma, who has recently returned to training would be not ready for the match.
Possible Line Ups
West Ham United (4-4-1-1): Adrian, Kouyaté, Reid, Ogbonna, Antonio, Noble, Obiang, Fernandes, Lanzini, Zaza, Payet.
Chelsea (3-4-3): Begovic, Azpilicueta, Terry, Luiz, Moses, Kanté, Matic, Alonso, Willian, Batshuayi, Hazard.
Key Players
Manuel Lanzini can be a key player for the hosts in the game. The Argentine is very skillful and has scored against Chelsea in the past. While the visitors would be a bit more worried about the star man Dimitri Payet, Lanzini will have a chance of finding spaces and can make good use of them.
For the visitors, Michy Batshuayi would be key as the Belgian striker will be keen to take his chance and stake a claim for first-team action to his manager in the coming weeks.
Betting Odds
West Ham are tipped at 7/2 for a home win while Chelsea is given a shot of 39/50 for their win. A draw is priced at 14/5 (888Sport)
