West Ham United and Chelsea do have a date in the Premier League at the London Stadium on matchday five. The Hammers are looking to build on some of their recent achievements while playing good football under new manager Julen Lopetegui, who replaced David Moyes in the summer. On the other hand, Chelsea have also replaced their erstwhile coach Mauricio Pochettino with Enzo Maresca. It is a battle of the new managers in this crucial London derby clash.
West Ham United, as of the time of writing, have done small work in the transfer window. Max Kilman arrived from Wolves in a big-money move, while Luis Guilherme came in from Palmeiras to strengthen the attack, and goalkeeper Wes Foderingham joined on a free transfer after the expiration of his contract at Sheffield United. In terms of the exits, they have let go of the likes of Flynn Downes to Southampton, Said Benrahma to Lyon, Thilo Kehrer to AS Monaco, Ben Johnson to Ipswich, while Angelo Ogbonna and Divin Mubuma were released by the club.
On the other hand, Chelsea, who spent massively in the previous season, are at it again this summer. Among the notable arrivals last summer were the £100 million acquisition of Moisés Caicedo, who chose Chelsea over Liverpool, Robert Sánchez from Brighton, Axel Disasi and Lesley Ugochukwu from the French Ligue 1, Cole Palmer from rivals Manchester City, Nicolas Jackson from Laliga side Villarreal, Romeo Lavia from relegated Southampton, and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig. This summer, they have made some tidy deals which include the arrival of Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer, Estevao Willian from Palmeiras, Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa, Marc Guiu from Barcelona, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from newly promoted Leicester City as of the time of writing.
In terms of the exits, left-back Ian Maatsen, after his exploits with Borussia Dortmund last season, left for Aston Villa, while Lewis Hall made his move to Newcastle United permanent, and Omari Hutchinson moved to Ipswich. The likes of Thiago Silva, Hakim Ziyech, and Malang Saar left the club on a free transfer.
The Hammers were not at their best last season and it led to the dismissal of Moyes at the end of the season. In the previous campaigns, they have played in Europe but they have none on their cards this particular season. The expectation is for them to get better and compete favourably based on the funds being injected into the club.
As for the Blues, they have not had so many successes with their summer dealings and that has shown in the multitude of signings they have made in the past two years. A new manager in Maresca is here to take them a notch higher after Mauricio Pochettino got them a place in Europe – the UEFA Europa Conference League – last season.
It might still be early days in the Premier League season but the teams are quite aware of the challenges, expectations and goals before them. The previous meeting at the London Stadium was good to watch and nothing short of that is being anticipated by everyone.
The jury remains out on Chelsea and their ambitions in the current season, especially after a summer of intense spending on youth mostly.
The epic match at London Stadium in London kicks off on Saturday 21st September 2024, at 12:30 pm UK time.
The magnificent 62,500-capacity stadium is the place to be for this clash between the two London clubs.
Getting West Ham United v Chelsea tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Manager Julen Lopetegui has a relatively healthy squad to pick his team from. The Londoners defeated their rivals in this game last term and they will be keen to do the same thing again. Midfielder Luca Paqueta, who had a poor campaign with Brazil in the Copa America, is expected to play a rather key part in this particular game.
With that being said, Areola, who played for most of last season, should still start in goal, while new signing Max Kilman could be given a spot at the heart of the defence alongside Mavropanos or Zouma, and Ward-Prowse keeps his place in midfield. Winger Kudus should be available for this game too.
West Ham United XI: Areola; Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Alvarez, Soucek; Bowen, Kudus, Fornals.
The Blues battled injuries all last season with the likes of captain Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Lesley Ugochukwu, Trevor Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, and Robert Sanchez all having a time out with the physios.
Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana has recovered from his ACL injury and he is expected to play a part in the season for the Blues. With the arrival of Tosin Adarabioyo, Chelsea’s backline should wear a new look, and with several other signings, it might be really difficult to predict their starting XI under Enzo Maresca for now. Slowly though, they are starting to find stability in their XI.
Chelsea XI: Robert Sanchez; Levi Colwill, Chilwell, Reece James; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling, Nkunku.
West Ham United are expected to develop a more attacking style under Lopetegui and this will see them abandon a pragmatic approach that has kept them in the top flight for a while as well in the continental places. The Hammers won this fixture last season, so the confidence will be there to do it again.
Chelsea on the other hand, started last season poorly but finished on a great note, but there has been change in the dugout and that might be the difference in this game at the London Stadium.
Meanwhile, West Ham have not lost at home to Chelsea since 2021 and they are more than capable of keeping their run going.
West Ham United 1-1 Chelsea
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