Chelsea vs West Ham Match Betting Preview
Blues at Risk of Fourth Straight Home Defeat
West Ham Looks to Extend Chelsea’s Woes
Chelsea, on their worst home losing streak since 1993, host London rivals West Ham on Sunday in the English Premier League. Looking to right the ship, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea are heavy favorites to avoid a fourth consecutive loss at Stamford Bridge, but upstart West Ham are certainly capable of a result. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most important factors in this London derby in our Chelsea vs West Ham match betting preview.
Chelsea vs West Ham Match Betting Preview
- Location: Stamford Bridge, London, England
- Date & Time: Sunday 9 a.m. ET
- TV: USA Network
Chelsea vs West Ham Head-to-Head
Last Five Premier League Meetings:
West Ham 3-2 Chelsea, West Ham 0-1 Chelsea, Chelsea 3-0 West Ham, West Ham 3-2 Chelsea, Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
West Haven is +515 underdogs, but David Moyes’ club have gotten the better of Chelsea in recent times. Most matches have been very competitive as eight of the last 10 meetings have been decided by a goal or fewer.
The most recent match was no exception as Arthur Masuaku’s late winner sealed a 3-2 West Ham comeback win at the London Stadium in December. Chelsea did defeat the Hammers 3-0 at Stamford Bridge last season, but have won just two of their last four home matchups vs West Ham.
Chelsea in Crisis Mode
- Premier League Position: 3rd, 62 pts
- EPL Form: L,W,L,W,W
- Injuries and suspensions: D Andreas Christensen (knock), D Antonio Rudiger (groin), M Mateo Kovacic (ankle), F Callum Hudson-Odoi (back), D Ben Chilwell (ACL)
Chelsea have been unstable defensively lately and injury was added to insult as Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen picked up knocks in their midweek loss to Arsenal. The Gunners knocked off Chelsea 4-2 to hand the Blues their third consecutive defeat at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 1993.
Romelu Lukaku disappeared in the loss to Arsenal and the big Belgian has been incredibly disappointing since becoming the club’s record transfer last summer. Blues fans will be encouraged by Timo Werner’s recent performances, though, and he scored an excellent goal vs Arsenal.
There was a point when Chelsea and Manchester City betting odds were competitively priced, but hopes of a title challenge are long gone. The Blues will almost certainly finish top-four but conceding 10 goals in their last three home matches is inexcusable.
West Ham’s Depleted Backline
- Premier League Position: 7th, 52 pts
- EPL Form: D,L,W,L,W
- Injuries and suspensions: D Issa Diop (ligament), D Kurt Zouma (ankle), D Angelo Ogbonna (ACL)
The Premier League has come secondary to West Ham’s Europa League campaign in recent weeks and the Hammers are on an incredible run. They picked up an excellent 3-0 win vs. Lyon to advance to the UEL semifinals, and West Ham’s odds are favorable to qualify for the final. Virtually out of the top-four race, winning the Europa League is their last hope for qualifying for the Champions League next season.
In important betting news, a pair of West Ham center backs have picked up untimely injuries. Issa Diop and Kurt Zouma both figure to miss Sunday’s match and could miss out on the Europa League semifinal first leg vs. Eintracht Frankfurt.
With Angelo Ogbonna already out with an ACL tear, that leaves Craig Dawson as the only fully fit first-team center back. Moyes may have to get creative with his lineup for the Hammers to have a chance vs Chelsea.
What to Watch
We’ve already seen that a handful of center backs are injured in our Chelsea vs West Ham match betting preview and it could surely affect the outcome. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see some goals resulting from defensive miscues on Sunday. The over/under goals total is set at 2½.
Chelsea are currently on a 12-game scoring streak in all competitions while West Ham have been on the scoresheet in seven of their last eight. West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has been one of the Premier League’s most underrated players while the Hammers also have players like Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini that can cause the Blues problems.
It’s likely that Lukaku is left out of the lineup here for Chelsea and it’s worth noting that Werner has four goals in his last four matches. He’s often maligned for his comical misses, but he’s found the net more often than not lately. It’d be a huge disappointment if Chelsea were to drop four straight at Stamford Bridge so expect a better effort from the Blues here than against Arsenal.
