Chelsea’s victory over Spurs was convincing. It marked their 10th Premier League double over Tottenham, exposing Spurs' well-known weakness at set pieces. Trevoh Chalobah scored from Conor Gallagher's well-placed free kick, and later, Cole Palmer's shot hit the crossbar, setting up Nicolas Jackson to head in the rebound. Even with a long injury list, Chelsea dominated throughout the match, delivering Mauricio Pochettino his first win in three games.
Chelsea's win put them in eighth place in the Premier League, just two points behind Newcastle United and three behind Manchester United, tightening the race for European qualification. Their home record is looking good too, with six wins and a draw in their last seven games at Stamford Bridge, scoring multiple goals each time and keeping clean sheets in the last two.
This weekend, Chelsea has a chance to strengthen their bid for a top-seven finish and deal a blow to West Ham’s European hopes. The Irons, on the other hand, are struggling with form, having won only one of their last nine games.
Despite their recent strong performance against Liverpool, West Ham’s European chances are slipping as they sit in ninth place, two points behind Chelsea but with one more game played.
West Ham's upcoming matches are challenging, with a trip to face Manchester City on the final day of the season. They've yet to keep a Premier League clean sheet on the road this year, their last shutout coming in December against Arsenal.
However, the Hammers did beat Chelsea 3-1 at the London Stadium back in August and could achieve just their third Premier League double over the Blues with another win.
But Chelsea has the upper hand at Stamford Bridge, winning the last three meetings there against West Ham. Given Chelsea's recent form and West Ham's shaky defense, Sunday's game could be a pivotal step for the Blues in their quest for European football next season.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Chelsea's long list of injured players could grow even longer before Sunday's match, as right-back Alfie Gilchrist had to leave the field with the team physio during their win against Tottenham. This gave 17-year-old Josh Acheampong, who turns 18 on Sunday, the opportunity to make his first-team debut.Gilchrist's issue might just be a case of cramp, so it might not be serious. Chelsea also mentioned that both Levi Colwill, who has a toe injury, and Christopher Nkunku, who’s dealing with a thigh problem, were back in training before the Tottenham game, but neither of them was included in the matchday squad. Their status for Sunday is still up in the air, as is Axel Disasi's, who has a minor injury.
The other 12 players who are definitely out include Enzo Fernandez (hernia), Wesley Fofana (knee), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Lesley Ugochukwu (thigh), Reece James (thigh), Raheem Sterling (back), Malo Gusto (knee), Ben Chilwell (knee), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee), Thiago Silva (groin), and Robert Sanchez, whose issue hasn't been specified.
On the West Ham side, David Moyes has a much shorter injury list, and there's a chance that two out of three could recover in time for the trip to Stamford Bridge. George Earthy, who had a scary head collision, hasn't suffered any lasting damage, so he might be cleared from concussion protocol this weekend. Dinos Mavropanos, recovering from a knock, is also fighting to be fit for the game, while Nayef Aguerd (ankle) has been ruled out.
If Mavropanos is ready to play, he could replace Angelo Ogbonna in the starting lineup. Moyes made a bold move by benching James Ward-Prowse in the Liverpool game, and he might stick with that decision, despite Ward-Prowse scoring a stunning free-kick at Stamford Bridge when he played for Southampton last year.
Overall, Chelsea has some big names missing, which could affect their game plan, while West Ham is hoping to have more players back to face their London rivals.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Chelsea possible starting lineup:Petrovic; Gilchrist, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Mavropanos, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
EXPERT PREDICTION
Chelsea 2-1 West Ham
Chelsea's performance on Thursday, despite their massive injury list, was pretty impressive. They showed they can still find the back of the net even with so many key players out. Given that they’ve been scoring freely at Stamford Bridge, there's no reason to think that will change against West Ham, a team that hasn't kept a clean sheet in 15 Premier League games.
David Moyes’s squad will probably put up more of a fight than Tottenham did on Thursday, managing to score against Chelsea's defense. But we still think Chelsea, who seem to know how to get the job done at home, will have the upper hand in this match—even if they're scraping together a starting lineup that's been playing through injuries and fatigue.
