Big Match Breakdown: West Ham v Chelsea
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Odds, tips and preview for London derby
Chelsea will be looking to continue their perfect start to the season against West Ham United in Premier League action this afternoon.
There’s normally plenty of drama when these London rivals meet.
You can catch the action live on Sky Sports Premier League at 1:30pm. Before it gets started, the Coral News Team have all the pre-match info and odds…
Head-to-Head
West Ham have an impressive record against Chelsea in recent years. They beat the West London side at home and drew at Stamford Bridge last term.
Over the last three seasons, they’ve met seven times. West Ham have won three of those, while Chelsea have only come out on top twice.
Likely XIs
The hosts will be hoping Marko Arnautovic is fit to start. He was superb in the win over Everton and has been involved in 16 Premier League goals so far in 2018. Mohamed Salah is the only player with a hand in more (23).
With Jack Wilshere still out, Declan Rice should continue alongside Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang in midfield. Ryan Fredericks’ pace may replace Pablo Zabaleta at right-back to help deal with Eden Hazard’s threat.
After making plenty of changes for the Europa League victory over PAOK, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri will revert to his strongest side here.
Mateo Kovacic is a doubt, so Cesc Fabregas could make his first start under the Italian.
Key Battles
Despite winning last week, West Ham still gave up plenty of chances. Chelsea have more firepower than Everton and will make them pay if they’re that open again.
But Manuel Pellegrini’s side do have genuine quality now in the final third. They could find joy in the space behind Marcos Alonso.
Jorginho’s use of the ball has caught the eye since arriving at Chelsea. But Felipe Anderson’s tendency to cut inside could test him in the holding role.
Match Odds
Chelsea are 4/7 to make it six wins out of six in the top flight. West Ham are at 9/2, with the draw at 16/5.
The home side will take encouragement from their recent record against today’s opponents. West Ham or Draw is 11/8 as a Double Chance bet.
After bagging a hat-trick last week, Hazard is 7/2 to score First and 23/20 to score Anytime.
Olivier Giroud set up two goals last week. He’s 5/4 to get a goal himself today.
Arnautovic scored the only goal in this fixture last season and is 2/1 to score again this time around.
Andriy Yarmolenko’s a 9/4 shot to follow up last week’s brace with another goal.
Click here for the latest West Ham v Chelsea odds.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
