Match preview :
Defending Champions, Chelsea, travel to the London stadium to face a West Ham United side that took away a lot of positives from their previous game against Manchester City, wherein they almost held on to grab a point. Chelsea need to gallop forward with a run of victories if they are to catch up with the cautionary league leaders. A London derby can never be taken for granted, by any team’s standards. But, given the present form of both the teams, the Pensioners could feel they are favourites to take away three points from this fixture as the Hammers last won in the league on the 30th of September against rock-bottom side Swansea City.
Latest team news :
Michy Batshuayi is back and should be in the squad, most probably on the bench.
David Luiz claimed that he is feeling ‘fresh’ but Conte hasn’t yet opened up about his return date. Apparently, he had talks regarding a move to Madrid over the weekend.
Kenedy is still not 100% fit although, he is training with the squad.
Danny Drinkwater is ill and will not play against the Irons.
Predicted line up : (3-4-2-1)
Defence :
Thibaut Courtois will start in between the sticks. He has been let down by the defence at times, which ultimately takes away his clean sheet.
Antonio Rudiger could return on the left side of that back three whereas the consistent duo of Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta will also feature in this match. Both of them have been very stubborn while defending in the box and have shown a lot of character along with discipline.
Marcos Alonso will surely return after having been rested by Conte in midweek.
Victor Moses could start this game too, which will be his third in a row after returning from injury. This is simply because his tackling success was better than that of Zappacosta, who played out of his natural position.
Midfield :
Cesc Fabregas, who is linking well with Hazard and Morata, will play alongside the hardworking N’Golo Kante.
Eden Hazard, who has been Chelsea’s best player since returning from an ankle injury will start on the left with Pedro accompanying him from the other side. The Spaniard looked sharp against Madrid.
Attack :
Alvaro Morata, who couldn’t come out on top versus the opposition keeper in midweek, will look to continue his form. But, it won’t be surprising if Conte subs him off earlier than expected because of the jam-packed schedule.
