West Ham United vs Chelsea Prediction, Preview & Odds; Jesse Lingard to Score but Blues for Hammers

23/04/2021 | Categories: Football betting | Published by: Andy Nelson

West Ham United vs Chelsea Prediction and Preview

Updated: 9th June 2023

2020-21 EPL Preview: West Ham United vs Chelsea – London stadium – Saturday, 24 April 2021 – 17:30hrs. BST

West Ham United vs Chelsea Preview

Fourth-placed Chelsea and fifth-placed West Ham United take on each other at the London stadium on Saturday, April 24th for a critical Premier league clash. Both sides will aim to garner three points from the fixtures, being on 55 points each.

The Hammers' bid to go to the top four was stymied by an unexpected 2-3 loss to bottom-half side Newcastle while Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea failed to capitalize on their fellow Londoners' slip-up when they were held to a goalless draw by minions Brighton & Hove.

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Team Recent Form Stats

West Ham United Premier League form guide: L/D/W/W/L

Chelsea Form Premier League form guide: W/D/L/W/D

Team News

David Moyes will be without defender Craig Dawson who was suspended mid-way through the game against Newcastle after being red-carded. Aaron Cresswell should be fit enough to start for the Hammers and move in for Dawson. Twentynine-year old Paraguayan Fabian Balbuena could make his debut start in a center-back role if Cresswell were to miss out. Arthur Masuaku and Declan Rice with knee injuries and Michail Antonio suffering from a pulled hamstring are some of the key absentees for West Ham going into the April 24th clash.

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For Chelsea, Thiago Silva looks a certainty in the starting XI on Saturday after being rested against Brighton on Tuesday night. Cesar Azpilicueta, N'Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell were rested too for the weekend clash and should return for starts.

Timo Werner could get the nod instead of Christian Pulisic for one spot in the attack. Callum Hudson-Odoi could come in the right wing-back space in place of Reece James whom Tuchel could choose to bring in at some point of the match.

Kepa Arrizabalaga was a surprise start between the posts against Brighton but Edouard Mendy is more likely to return for Saturday's crucial game.

West Ham United predicted XI in a 3-4-1-2 formation: Lukasz Fabianski (goal), Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna, Ben Johnson, Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek, Mark Noble, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen, Jesse Lingard

Chelsea predicted XI in a 3-4-2-1 formation: Edouard Mendy (goal); Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount, Timo Werner; Kai Havertz

Moyes' Hammers have been splendid at home at the London stadium, losing just three of their sixteen fixtures at the venue this season.

Both sides have won four outings apiece from their 11 encounters since 2016 with the Hammers having lost only once at home to Chelsea from their six games in that period.

The Blues have had a tremendous run under Tuchel having lost only once from the 19 games under his charge, but their form has been a bit patchy of late. Chelsea have only three wins to show from their last eight fixtures in the league, racking up as many as four draws in the process.

In what is expected to be a thrilling encounter at the London stadium, Chelsea hold a slight edge against a West Ham side beset with injuries.