Next Wednesday, January 29, 2014 (11:45 AM Pacific, 19:45 GMT), Chelsea will take on West Ham at Stamford Bridge in round 23 of the English Premier League. The Blues are looking for their sixth consecutive win and to continue their fantastic recent home and away form, while The Hammers are still struggling to wake up from the nightmarish campaign they have been having so far. The third from the top of the table will go head-to-head with the third from the bottom, in a clash that should only serve to maim West Ham’s ambitions a little more.
Chelsea are just three points behind league leaders Arsenal and they cannot afford to lose this home match against the frail West Ham if they want to continue up on the same place of the table. José Mourinho will be able to rely on the team’s new signing, Nemanja Matic, for the first time in the league, after the Serbian international managed to put up a quality performance during last weekend’s FA Cup match against Stoke City.
Chelsea’s boss will not be able to count on Frank Lampard, who is still recovering from the injury that has been affecting him lately, and on Fernando Torres, down due to a knee injury.
As for West Ham, things are not as bright as they are for their London rivals. Sam Allardyce’s boys are third from bottom and they have only managed to win one of their last nine Premier League matches. West Ham’s boss received some good news recently with the arrivals of Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borriello, on loan from AC Milan and AS Roma respectively. The English head coach had already expressed his frustration with the lack of new signings earlier this month and all of a sudden he got two former International Italian players, who will probably give him more solutions to face the relegation battle that is closing in.
West Ham still have plenty of injured players, a reality quite common for Sam Allardyce this term; however, next Wednesday he will probably be able to count on Joey O’Brien, Guy Demel and Winston Reid.
Chelsea vs West Ham Prediction
With the clash against Manchester City just around the corner, Chelsea must avoid any upsets in next Wednesday’s match if they want to maintain Manchester City and Arsenal withing striking distance. Chelsea will probably not find any major difficulties to defeat a puny West Ham that are still looking to find themselves this season. This being said, the most likely outcome is 2-0 for Chelsea.
Chelsea vs West Ham TV Info
The match will be televised on Premier League Extra Time (USA). and Chelsea TV (UK, Audio Only).
Chelsea vs West Ham Highlights
Match highlights will be uploaded in this section.
