Premier League heavyweights Chelsea will be eager to get back to winning ways in the competition when they welcome David Moyes’ West Ham United side to an empty Stamford Bridge on Monday night. The Blues’ latest clash saw them fall to a frustrating 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers, where despite taking the lead early on in the second half, they conceded a shocking late winner to Pedro Neto. West Ham United, on the other hand, currently find themselves just a point off Chelsea at the top half of the table, and are coming into this match in a decent run of form.
Team News
Chelsea
The Blues were missing the presences of both Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi down the flanks for the last couple of fixtures, but the duo has now returned to first-team training. Whether or not they’re ready to make it back into the first-team immediately remains to be seen, but their return to fitness will be a massive boost to Lampard’s ambitions for the Christmas period. Apart from these two wingers, Chelsea actually have a full-strength squad to choose from for this clash.
Predicted XI: Mendy, James, Zouma, Chilwell, Kante, Kovacic, Mount, Pulisic, Abraham, Werner
West Ham United
The Hammers actually have a number of key players who have returned to fitness over the last few days, but how many of them are ready to come back into the eleven immediately remains to be seen. Fabian Balbuena missed the last outing, and the defender could be available subject to a late fitness test. Jarrod Bowen should be fit enough to make his return, with Aaron Cresswell certain to be an option too. Michail Antonio, despite his return to first-team training, is likely not going to start.
Predicted XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals, Haller
Here Is The Chelsea Vs West Ham United Tactical Preview:
Chelsea Vs West Ham United Tactical Preview
Talking Tactics
Chelsea
The Blues haven’t been in the best of form over the last few fixtures, and Frank Lampard and the team will be eager to show that the last couple of weeks have been nothing more than a tiny blip. Expect the London club to keep a majority of the possession, and also create the chances that they’ve been lacking so far this month. Expect Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic to see a lot of the ball down the flank, constantly supported by the wide presence of Ben Chilwell and Reece James. Having been beaten in both games, Edouard Mendy will be eager to show himself in a good light as well.
West Ham United
The Hammers’ attacking players tend to have extremely polar games, in that if they’re perfect in one match, they seem to completely disappear for the next. In the fixture against Crystal Palace, they didn’t turn up at all, and David Moyes will be hoping that they can use the pace of Bowen and trickery of Benrahma to exploit Chelsea’s poor run of form. The likes of Diop and Ogbonna will have to remain extremely narrow to stop this Chelsea team, as the amount of firepower they have down the wide areas needn’t even be discussed anymore.
Key Men
Chelsea
For all the quality players that Chelsea have in their roster, it must be conceded that their most consistent attacking influence this season has been Reece James. The English speedster’s deliveries into the box have been top-notch, and Lampard will likely expect more of the same.
West Ham United
Like Chelsea, West Ham also have a number of attacking players in the roster. As important as Sebastien Haller’s hold-up play will be, Declan Rice arguably has a more important role to play. Rice will have to ensure that the Chelsea midfield isn’t able to dictate the play, as that could spell danger.
