West Ham vs Chelsea Prediction & Betting Tips (21 September)

Prominent on the continental scene in recent years, West Ham will not play in the European Cup this season. Indeed, the London team had to settle for 9th place in the Premier League during the previous financial year. Eager to fight for the European seats this season, the Hammers got off to a sluggish start in the championship. At the end of the first 4 days, they only won on the pitch of Crystal Palace 0-2. Otherwise, West Ham lost at home to Aston Villa 1-2 and Manchester City 1-3 and took a point at Fulham last weekend 1-1. Outside the Big 4 in the last two seasons, Chelsea struggling to play leading roles despite significant investments.

Last year, the Blues managed to raise their level in the home stretch to secure 6th place in the Premier League and therefore qualify for the Conference League. Now under the leadership of Enzo Maresca, they intend to join the fight for the Big 4. The championship began with a setback suffered at home against the ogre Manchester City 0-2. On the other hand, Cole Palmer's teammates have performed better since. They were certainly held to a draw at home by Crystal Palace 1-1 but also won at Wolverhampton 2-6 and Bournemouth last weekend 0-1.

West Ham are not assured of being able to count on robust German striker Füllkrug, who has not started once in his first 3 Premier League appearances. Otherwise, the coach can count on his entire squad. Jamaican Antonio should again start up front although it was substitute Ings who snatched the equalizer last weekend. Wingers Bowen (1 goal and 1 assist in PL) and Kudus are available. This summer, West Ham confirmed the departures of Kehrer (Monaco), Zouma (Al-Orobah), Aguerd (Real Sociedad), Ward-Prowse (Nottingham Forest), Cornet (Southampton), Johnson (Ipswich), Ogbonna (without club ), Downes (Southampton) and Benrahma (Lyon). In addition, midfielder Phillips (Man City) was not retained after his loan. In the opposite direction, defenders Kilman (Wolverhampton), Todibo (Nice) and Wan-Bissaka (Man United) arrived as did midfielders Soler (PSG) and Rodriguez (Betis Sevilla), wingers Summerville (Leeds) and Luis Guilherme (Palmeiras) and striker Füllkrug (Dortmund). Chelsea must still do without captain Reece James and summer recruit Kellyman, who have not sufficiently recovered from their physical problems.

Furthermore, uncertainties hover around the participations of the excellent midfielder Lavia and the right side Malo Gusto. Used off the bench during the last 3 days, former Parisian Nkunku scored the equalizing goal against Fulham. He could still be on the bench since Madueke (3 goals in PL), Palmer (1 goal and 4 assists in PL) and Jackson (2 goals and 1 assist in PL) are looking good. Many elements left Chelsea this summer. This is the case of the holders Thiago Silva (Fluminense) and Gallagher (Atlético Madrid). We can also point out the departures of the less important Maatsen (Aston Villa), Hall (Newcastle), Hutchinson (Ipswich), Moreira (Strasbourg), Angelo (Al-Nassr), Ziyech (Galatasaray), Sterling (Arsenal), Broja (Everton ), Chalobah (Crystal Palace), Petrovic (Strasbourg), Sarr (Lens), Kepa (Bournemouth), Lukaku (Naples) and Ugochukwu (Southampton). As usual, the London team was active in terms of arrivals with the recruitment of goalkeepers Jorgensen (Villarreal) and Penders (Genk), defenders Anselmino (Boca Juniors), Veiga (Basel), Wiley (Atlanta) and Adarabioyo (Fulham), midfielders Dewsbury-Hall (Leicester) and Kellyman (Aston Villa) as well as attackers Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton), Sancho (Manchester United), Joao Felix (Atlético Madrid) and Guiu (Barcelona).