Fresh off a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in Sunday’s Capital One Cup Final, Chelsea do not have much time to celebrate their first silverware of the campaign before a Wednesday afternoon league date with West Ham at Upton Park. With dreams of a treble still intact and a five-point cushion atop the Premiership, the Blues will have to maintain their focus in league play to hold off Manchester City for the final 12 matches of the season, although that task was facilitated by Liverpool’s 2-1 triumph over the Citizens on Sunday.
Chelsea will be facing a West Ham side that started the Premier League campaign in fine form before hitting a speed bump at the Christmas period that has them skidding into this mid-week clash. The Hammers raced out of the gates and found themselves in the top four of the Premier League table heading into Christmas, but have been a on a steady decline since their Boxing Day fixture at Stamford Bridge ended in a 2-0 loss. Since that point, Sam Allardyce’s men have earned only eight of a possible 30 points and enter Wednesday’s match having won just once in their previous 10 outings, a slide that has seen them fall to the middle of the table at ninth place.
The Blues, meanwhile, have not lost in league play since their New Years Day drubbing at White Heart Lane, which they successfully avenged on Sunday. Chelsea are undefeated in their six Premier League fixtures since then, including four wins and a pair of draws – one against Manchester City and the other courtesy of the Burnley debacle.
Set pieces could continue to be crucial for CFC in this match. The Blues, who are second in the league in set piece goals with 12 on the season, face a West Ham squad that have struggled to defend in such situations recently. Crystal Palace scored all three of their goals in Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham from set pieces, with Glenn Murray scoring two and Scott Dann adding another, all off assists from Jason Puncheon. Chelsea’s set piece success continued at Wembley with their breakthrough goal against Spurs, as John Terry took advantage of sub-optimal defending by Tottenham on Willian’s service from the right side to put the Blues ahead before half and change the complexion of the match in the process.
Chelsea will have to cope without Nemanja Matić again as he serves the final game of his suspension issued after a red card against Burnley. José Mourinho made headlines for his use of centre back Kurt Zouma in the midfield against Tottenham in Matić’s absence, a tactical decision that paid dividends by shielding Chelsea’s back line from Spurs’ attacking duo of Christian Erisksen and Harry Kane. It remains to be seen whether the Special One opts to go with Zouma again the midfield or if he returns to a more normal lineup, perhaps using Ramires next to Fàbregas in the double pivot or opting to go with a 4-3-3 formation as he has previously this season. Whatever he goes with, the manager has proven time and again that he is not afraid to make the unexpected choice.
Otherwise, we can expect Oscar to come back into the lineup with Filipe Luís and Juan Cuadrado also being possible options.
West Ham’s injury situation remains unchanged, as they will be without the services of Andy Carroll up front as well as Carlton Cole in the midfield. Morgan Amalfitano won’t be available in the midfield due to a ban following his sending off for violent conduct against West Brom in an FA Cup match on February 14. Without the oft-injured Carroll, Diafra Sakho (nine goals) and Enner Valencia (four goals) will carry the load at striker with Stewart Downing (five goals) providing assistance from the midfield.
The Blues’ injury status also remains constant, with John Obi Mikel being the only casualty other than the suspended Matić.
This match provides Chelsea with a great opportunity to maintain their lead over Manchester City while still holding a game in hand. The Blues have enjoyed great success recently against West Ham, winning 17 of their last 18 matches against the Hammers in all competitions and keeping clean sheets in their last four, according to WhoScored.com. It won’t be a stroll in Upton Park, but barring a let down Chelsea should leave East London with a victory and no less than a five-point lead atop the table.
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