Chelsea makes a short trip to the Boleyn Ground to face their London Rivals West Ham in today’s Premier League encounter.
There seems to be some kind of revival going on in the Chelsea camp as the Blues are looking to put their horrible start to the season behind them following an impressive showing against relegation-threatened Aston Villa last time out.
West Ham finds themselves at 4th place on the log following great performances against top sides as the Hammers have already grabbed wins against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, and high-flying Manchester City.
Chelsea needs to be careful with Slaven Bilic’s men as they could easily grab all three points against the Blues as they are on an impressive run and are currently enjoying their finest start to a Premier League season. Chelsea has kept two consecutive clean sheets in their last two games against Aston Villa and Dynamo Kyiv, which hints that the Blues have improved defensively.
Although West Ham looks a better team at the moment, Chelsea have enjoyed back to back wins against the hammers and Mourinho’s men will be looking to continue that feat in today’s derby.
The performances from Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lazzini will be essential in today’s encounter as the duo possess the great attacking ability and can capitalize on defensive errors instantly.
Team News
Blues manager Jose Mourinho goes with Diego Costa to lead his side’s attack, while Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Willian will look to get forward to support the Spain international. Nemanja Matic is in midfield, along with Ramires, while the central defensive pairing is captain John Terry and Gary Cahill.
On the bench, Mourinho has Radamel Falcao available for selection if required, along with Brazilian midfielder Oscar. Chelsea youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also amongst the substitutes.
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic has selected Diafra Sakho to spearhead his side’s attack, but the striker will be backed up by Manuel Lanzini, Dimitri Payet and Mauro Zarate. Mark Noble skippers the side from midfield, with the central defensive pairing today being James Tomkins and James Collins.
On the bench, Bilic can call upon Andy Carroll if he needs to throw on another attacking threat, while fellow striker Nikica Jelavic is also an option, as is winger Michail Antonio.
Payet adds another dimension to West Ham’s attack, and he will be looking to put in solid performance for the Hammers
Starting Lineups
Chelsea: Begovic; Zouma, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Fabregas, Hazard; Diego Costa.
Subs: Amelia, Baba Rahman, Mikel, Loftus-Cheek, Oscar, Traore, Falcao
West Ham: Adrian, Jenkinson, Tomkins, Collins, Cresswell, Noble (c), Kouyate, Zarate, Payet, Lanzini, Sakho
Subs: Randolph, Carroll, Valencia, Obiang, Ogbonna, Jelavic, Antonio.
