Chelsea vs West Ham United

Stamford Bridge forms the backdrop for an all-London Premier League showdown between Chelsea and West Ham United.

Chelsea are at risk of dropping out of the European spots after a 3-1 defeat at Manchester City last weekend condemned them to a sixth winless league outing in seven (D3, L3), demoting them to sixth in the table pre-round. Enzo Maresca must improve his side’s form to steer them back to the Champions League promotion tussle, and the impending return to Stamford Bridge bodes well. Indeed, the Blues have only lost once in their last 16 home matches across all competitions (W11, D4). Facing West Ham should add to the hosts’ confidence, considering they’ve only suffered one defeat across their last 19 H2Hs on home turf (W14, D4). Furthermore, they claimed a thumping 5-0 win in this corresponding fixture in 2023/24 to extend their winning H2H run in West London to four games.

In the meantime, West Ham followed the defeat at the Bridge with a disheartening 3-0 home loss in this season’s reverse fixture, facing the risk of losing three top-flight H2Hs in a row for the first time since 2011. New boss Graham Potter has blown hot and cold across his opening three Premier League games in charge of the club (W1, D1, L1), forming part of West Ham’s underwhelming run of four defeats from their last six outings across the Premier League and FA Cup. Slow starts could throw a spanner in the works again, with the Irons conceding a league-high nine goals in the opening ten minutes this season. Moreover, they’ve only won once on their last six road trips in all competitions (D2, L3).