Premier League: West Ham vs Chelsea live
Preview
After starting the 2023-24 Premier League season with 1-1 draws, West Ham United and Chelsea will face each other in a London derby at the London Stadium on Sunday at 3:30pm. In their opening matches, both teams managed to come from behind and secure a point. West Ham held Bournemouth, while Chelsea equalized against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
Starting a new chapter without Declan Rice in the midfield, West Ham traveled to face Bournemouth in their first Premier League match of the season. In the 51st minute, Jarrod Bowen’s goal gave the Europa Conference League champions the lead, but Bournemouth equalized through Dominic Solanke eight minutes before the end of the game.
Despite only having 37% possession at the Vitality Stadium, West Ham managed to secure a point. Moyes criticized Bournemouth’s equalizer, calling it completely lucky as the ball fell favorably for Solanke to score. However, the West Ham manager acknowledged that his team invited pressure in the second half and warned that employing similar tactics against Pochettino’s revamped Chelsea could be dangerous.
Chelsea caused controversy off the field before their highly anticipated match against Liverpool in the capital last weekend. They managed to steal Moises Caicedo from Liverpool, who had previously secured a British-record deal for the player. Additionally, they convinced Romeo Lavia to reject Anfield and join Stamford Bridge. Liverpool sought revenge during the game, with Luis Diaz scoring from a well-executed pass by Mohamed Salah.
However, they failed to defend a corner, allowing Axel Disasi to score from Ben Chilwell’s header. Under the leadership of Pochettino, Chelsea has not lost a game since he took charge, including friendly matches. Pochettino’s next objective is to reverse Chelsea’s poor form in the Premier League, as they have only won one of their last 13 matches and none of their previous five.
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Head-to-head
Chelsea emerged victorious in three out of the previous five games against West Ham. They did not suffer any defeats in their two encounters with West Ham in the previous season. The most recent match between the two teams concluded in a 1-1 draw last season.
Prediction
Chelsea were unfortunate not to defeat Liverpool in their previous match. The clash between the rejuvenated midfields of both teams will be fascinating, and the West Ham’s ability to score goals at this venue is widely known. However, if Chelsea continue their form from the previous weekend, they should secure a victory against a West Ham side that did not perform convincingly at the Vitality Stadium.
