West Ham look to avenge the devastating Boxing Day 2-0 loss to London rivals Chelsea on Wednesday evening. The Blues will be determined to come out with all three points, with their closest title rivals Manchester City proving that they could not contain the likes of Phillipe Coutinho following his recent gloss in form, suffering a 2-1 defeat against Liverpool on the weekend. The visitors will look to widen the gap to eight points against the champions of England, with all fingers slowly starting to point Chelsea closer to the title. Jose Mourinho's men recently won the Capital One Cup, so fitness may see the squad be rotated in this fixture.
However, The Hammers and Sam Allardyce are aware that even though Tottenham have a game in hand like Chelsea, they need to separate themselves from Swansea City and Stoke City, which respectively sum up the tight points between sixth and nineth place. They'll also look to build their own confidence, following their rather disappointing display against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, where they lost 3-1 at home to a rejuvenuated Palace side under Alan Pardew.
Team News
Chelsea:
Nemanja Matic will serve his last game of his suspension for violent conduct following the controversial incident when Chelsea entertained Burnley last weekend. John Obi Mikel will miss out courtesy of a knee injury which has forced him to have surgery recently. Look for the possibility to see players like Oscar, Cuadrado, and Filipe Luis to return to the starting squad or more minutes after limited play time over the last couple fixtures. Kurt Zouma has received praise from Jose Mourinho and may start in the central defensive midfielder spot once again.
West Ham:
Despite no recent injuries, Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole remain out due to injuries. Morgan Amalfitano is suspended due to a red card accumulated from a FA Cup match against West Bromwich Albion. Former Brazil Ligue 1 star for PSG Nene has been signed by the Hammers and may debut most likely off the bench, as he did against Palace on the weekend. Allardyce may rotate the squad under Sakho and Valencia after the loss against Crystal Palace.
Recent Form:
Chelsea: WWDWWD
West Ham: WLDDDL
Stats:
Under Mourinho, Chelsea are yet to lose against the Hammers. How will they fare on Wednesday? (W6, D1)
West Ham have trouble putting the ball in the net against the Blues, with goals only coming in ONE of the six past meetings.
Only one team has prevented Chelsea from scoring in their previous 27 league matches - Sunderland.
The Hammers' last league victory was a 3-0 home win over Hull, back in mid January.
Predicted starting line-ups:
Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Filipe Luis, Zouma, Fábregas, Cuadrado, Oscar, Hazard and Diego Costa.
West Ham: Adrían, Jenkinson, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell, Noble, Song, Kouyaté, Downing, Valencia and Sakho.
Referee: Andre Marriner