“This is a very difficult game to call” - Chris Sutton delivers his result prediction as Chelsea get ready for West Ham challenge
Former Chelsea attacker Chris Sutton has predicted the result of the Blues's Premier League trip to West Ham United on Saturday (September 21). Enzo Maresca's side are coming off a 1-0 league win at Bournemouth last weekend.
A Christopher Nkunku 86th-minute strike was enough to hand the visitors all three points as the Blues returned to winning ways after a two-game winless run across competitions.
Following a 2-1 loss at Swiss side Servette in the second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off, Maresca's side drew 1-1 at home to Crystal Palace in the league before beating Bournemouth last weekend.
Predicting a 1-1 draw for the Blues at the London Stadium, Sutton wrote in his column for the BBC:
"West Ham supposedly replaced David Moyes because they wanted to play 'the West Ham way', and the Hammers' technical director Tim Steidten was reportedly flying managers in for talks when Moyes was still in charge.
"In his wisdom, Steidten decided to go for Julen Lopetegui, a manager with similar traits to Moyes in terms of how he is a pragmatist. They spent a lot of money in the summer, about £130m on new players, but are they going to do better than last season under Moyes, when they finished ninth? I am not sure they will."
Admitting that he's unsure which way the game could go, as both sides have underwhelmed, Sutton concluded:
"This is a very difficult game to call because West Ham have not been playing particularly well, and I am not convinced by Chelsea either. They were very fortunate to beat Bournemouth last time out.
"I really do not have a clue how this one will go, so I suppose the sensible thing for me to go for is a draw."
Maresca's side are eighth in the Premier League after four games, six places ahead of the Hammers.
"We know we are going to play a great team" - West Ham boss ahead of Chelsea visit
New West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has no qualms of Chelsea's quality ahead of his team's clash with the Blues at home this weekend. The Spaniard arrived at the helm at the London Stadium this summer, replacing David Moyes.
While the Blues are also playing under a new boss - Maresca - they have had a better start to the season than the Hammers. However, Lopetegui wants his team to focus on themselves, telling West Ham's website (as per the Chelsea Chronicle):
“We know we are going to play a great team, with top players. They have quality and quantity.
“They have a good coach, and good ideas about how to play. But we have to focus on our players. Every team in the Premier League has quality, but we have to think about ourselves.”
The last time the Blues visited the London Stadium - in August last year - they lost 3-1. However, they won the reverse fixture 5-0 in May.