Premier League 2018/19: Preview to Chelsea's clash against West Ham United
After the long journey away from home to Greece to face PAOK in the Europa league opener, The Blues will be back in action in the Premier League this Sunday.
Chelsea will be aiming to continue their winning streak when they visit the London stadium to take on West Ham United in the London derby. With a win against West Ham United, Maurizio Sarri could become the third manager after Ancelotti and Guardiola to win six opening fixtures of the Premier League.
However, fatigue might be an issue for the blues as Sarri's boys will have less time to recover due to a delay in their flight back from Greece. Though, the good news for them is that Eden Hazard who was not involved in the Europa League clash will be fully recovered after enjoying his midweek in London.
Form Guide
West Ham United
The Hammers are currently in the 16th position on the Premier League table with only one point separating them from the bottom four. They have just registered one win in their five premier league matches this season.
Pellegrini's men started their campaign with a 4-0 loss to Liverpool and after that, they have lost three consecutive fixtures, 2-1 to Bournemouth, 3-1 to Arsenal and 1-0 to Wolves. The only victory they got this season came against Everton (3-1) during the last gameweek.
Chelsea
The Blues are currently sitting at the top of the table with 15 points, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference.
Chelsea has played brilliantly under their new manager Maurizio Sarri scoring 14 goals in their five games. Sarri's men started their campaign with a 3-0 win against Huddersfield Town. Then they went on to beat Arsenal (3-2), Newcastle (2-1), Bournemouth (2-0) and Cardiff City (4-1).
Their star-man Eden Hazard is currently the top scorer in the Premier League with 5 goals which includes the hattrick against Cardiff City in the last match. Chelsea will be hoping to continue their winning streak against West Ham United.
Last 5 meetings in the premier league
In the last 5 encounters between the two sides in the Premier League, Chelsea has won 2, West Ham has won 1 and 2 of the matches ended on equal terms.
The last they both faced each other was in the Premier League 2017-18 in April, the match ended on equal terms. Azpilicutea and Javier Hernandez scored for Chelsea and West Ham United respectively.
West Ham has just lost 1 game out of their last 4 matches against Chelsea in all competitions. After looking at the forms of both the teams, it looks like it will be difficult for West Ham to halt the march of the Blues.
Team News
West Ham United
West Ham striker Arnautovic will be doubtful for the match because of the knee injury he picked up against Everton in the last match. He was involved in 4 of their 5 goals in this premier league season.
Javier Hernandez might be unavailable for the clash as he has not been in training for the last two weeks recovering from his virus. On the other hand, Jack Wilshere is still sidelined after undergoing ankle surgery.
Chelsea
Chelsea's winger Pedro is doubtful for the match after he picked up a shoulder injury against POAK in the Europa League fixture. Both Eden Hazard and David Luiz will be back in the team after being rested against POAK. whereas Kovacic is expected to be fit for the match.
Thus, the Blues have much less to deal with in terms of injury and unavailability than their opponents.