Latest EPL standings as well as fixtures and results are found below the predictions.
An unexpectedly massive capital city derby pits Chelsea against West Ham in the English Premier League at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The pair are battling it out for a place on the EPL podium as they meet at the former Olympic Stadium in the evening kick off.
Only goal difference separates the duo in fourth and fifth and there’s no guessing where any goodwill will be heading, after the Blues’ bungled bid to join the breakaway European Super League this week.
It was a plan universally derided as nothing more than an anti-competitive, money-making wheeze for the already loaded, as the Stamford Bridge club were forced into a humiliating climbdown alongside five others of the EPL’s self-proclaimed ‘big six’.
The repair job begins across town as the battle for Uefa Champions League qualification continues and Thomas Tuchel’s side will be grateful for the change of scenery.
Lowly West Brom came away from the Bridge with an inexplicable 5-2 win before Brighton kept it tight for a goalless stalemate on Tuesday.
A 4-1 Selhurst Park thrashing of Crystal Palace in between bodes better for the team that has tottering third-placed Leicester in their sights.
Mateo Kovacic looks to be the only definite casualty for the away side, who could bring veteran Thiago back into the starting line up.
Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell should also make their returns following a night off in midweek.
No such drama for the Hammers, although they do need a quick return to winning ways if they are to finish a dream season with a place at Europe’s top table.
You can bet they’d be a damn sight more grateful than their visitors were they to manage it.
Defeat at rallying Newcastle last weekend put a dent in the grand plan for boss David Moyes, as his side missed the opportunity to go third in the Premier League table.
Moyes will also have to make do without a host of key names here, as Chelsea target Declan Rice is ruled out by injury and Craig Dawson is suspended.
They join Andriy Yarmolenko and Michail Antonio on the sidelines, while Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku are hoping to prove their fitness in time for the derby.
West Ham vs Chelsea: By the numbers
- Coming into this game, West Ham United has picked up 7 points from the last 5 games, both home and away. That’s 1.4 points per game on average. BTTS has landed in an intriguing 4 of those games. West Ham United has scored 11 times in the last 5 fixtures.
- Superb stuff from West Ham United at home, where they are currently unbeaten in 5 games. Can they go another game without defeat?
- Chelsea’s defence will have to be at their best today if they’re to stop West Ham United from scoring. The home side has scored in the last 15 games in front of their own fans. They have failed to score in 1 home matches this season.
- We might see some goals in this one, with the last 4 games involving West Ham United has ended with 3 or more goals being scored. Will Chelsea get in on the action today? There has been a total of 22 goals in the last 5 games for West Ham United, both home and away.
- In the last 5 matches for West Ham United, 4 of those games has ended with both teams scoring. This season 19 matches (59% of all matches) involving West Ham United has seen BTTS landing.
- It’s likely that West Ham United will score today, as they have netted in the last 4 games coming into this one and have scored 11 goals in the last five games.
- Coming into this game, Chelsea has picked up 10 points from the last 5 games, both home and away. That’s 2 points per game on average. BTTS has landed in just 2 of those games. Chelsea has scored 9 times in the last 5 fixtures.
- Superb stuff from Chelsea away from home, where they are currently unbeaten in 6 games. Can they go another game without defeat?
- Chelsea has kept 3 clean sheets in the last 5 games, conceding 6 goals during this period. Overall this season, their defence has kept a clean sheet on 15 occasions.
- Chelsea will be looking to keep up the momentum today against West Ham United, having lost just 1 game from the last 5. They have won 3 and drawn 1
- Just 2 of the last 5 games for Chelsea has ended with both teams scoring. They have won 3 of those 5 games. Overall, BTTS has landed in 13/31 games for Chelsea this season.
Source: Footystats.
West Ham vs Chelsea: Prediction
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
West Ham vs Chelsea: EPL starting XI prediction
Probable West Ham Starting XI: Lukasz Fabianski, Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek, Mark Noble, Ben Johnson, Pablo Fornals, Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen.
Probable Chelsea Starting XI: Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz.
Get?all English Premier League predictions, fixtures and results for 23-26 April 2021?here.