Chelsea host West Ham in London derby

Enzo Maresca and his Chelsea team have been experiencing difficulties recently, with only one victory in their previous seven Premier League matches (D3, L3) following a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City in their most recent outing. This decline has resulted in a noticeable drop down the Premier League standings, as Chelsea now find themselves in sixth place heading into the weekend, putting them at risk of missing out on European qualification if they don’t improve their form.

Chelsea

The Blues will be relieved to return to Stamford Bridge, where they have enjoyed much better results, losing just once in their last 16 home games across all competitions (W11, D4). The upcoming match against London rivals West Ham should also give Chelsea a boost in confidence, considering they have only suffered one defeat in the last 19 meetings at home (W14, D4).

West Ham failed to make an impact against Chelsea in their previous two encounters, suffering a 5-0 defeat here last season and a 3-0 loss at the London Stadium earlier this campaign. This puts them at risk of losing three consecutive league matches against Chelsea for the first time since 2011. West Ham’s recent form, with four losses in their last six Premier League and FA Cup matches (W1, D1), does not suggest that they will be able to avoid this fate.

Chelsea

The travelling supporters of West Ham will be hoping that Potter, their manager returning to face his former club for the fourth time (W1, D1, L1), has a surprise plan up his sleeve. However, history shows that former Chelsea head coaches have struggled when returning to Stamford Bridge as opposition managers. In fact, out of a total of eight former Chelsea head coaches who have returned to Stamford Bridge, none of them managed to secure a Premier League victory in 22 attempts (D8, L14).

Chelsea
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Players to keep an eye on: Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea is likely to be the most enthusiastic player in this match, as he directly contributed to six out of the eight goals in the previous two head-to-head encounters, with four goals and two assists. Another player to watch out for is Emerson from West Ham, who has recently scored three goals in London derbies before finding the net against Aston Villa in the last match. It is worth mentioning that one of his goals came against his former club, Chelsea, in a 1-1 draw.

Notable statistic: West Ham has conceded a league-high of nine goals in the first ten minutes of games this season, making them vulnerable at the start of matches.

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