Chelsea Match Preview
West Ham United avoided the unwanted record of losing their first three home games of the season by drawing 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night and having started the week off with three points, the Hammers will seek to end it on a positive note and start September by beating Chelsea in their latest London derby on Saturday afternoon.
This will be the first time that the Irons have been involved in a 3pm kick-off since January 21 when they were defeated 1-0 at Manchester United.
David Moyes’ men almost took a point away from West London last season but they were denied at the death. That after having seen the home side also miss a late penalty.
The first six fixtures looked favourable for Thomas Tuchel’s side but they have only won two and they come into this game off the back of a 2-1 defeat at Southampton on Tuesday. Having said that, an extra day’s preparation, coupled with some quality additions added on Deadline Day, might give them the edge on this occasion.
Both teams have European ties to look ahead to next week and with Chelsea having to travel to Croatia for their first UEFA Champions League group stage match against Dinamo Zagreb, the East Londoners will be hoping that they can take something away with them and also give Moyes a first ever success away to the Blues.
Ben Johnson remains sidelined for this weekend’s game, having sustained a hamstring injury against Aston Villa five days ago.
Gianluca Scamacca was left out of the matchday squad against Spurs in midweek due to a virus, meaning he will have to be assessed before any decision is made as regards to his involvement, while Aaron Cresswell was a doubt going into the home meeting with Antonio Conte’s side but was able to start the game, though it remains to be seen whether he is deemed fit enough to do the same again here.
Emmerson Palmieri will also be pushing for a start against his former club, having moved across London to join the Irons last month.
As stated above, the match is a 3pm kick-off and the referee is Andrew Madley.