West Ham vs Chelsea: EPL Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups and Fantasy XI

West Ham vs Chelsea, both teams will be eager to get their first wins of the 2023/24 season when they clash at the London Stadium on Sunday.

Match Details:

• Location: London, England
• Stadium: London Stadium
• Date: Sunday 20 August
• Kick-off Time: 16:30 BST / 11:30 ET / 08:30 PT
• Referee: John Brooks
• VAR: Paul Tierney

West Ham vs Chelsea: Match Preview:

West Ham United will play in Europe for a third successive season. But David Moyes will be wary of avoiding another Premier League campaign like his team endured last term. Those travails nearly cost him his job, and the Hammers have started the new campaign with a 1-1 stalemate against Bournemouth. Meanwhile, they remain busy in the transfer market, looking to plug the holes in the squad.

Speaking of being busy in the market, no club can be a better exponent of the thought process than Chelsea. The Blues have signed a ton of players for a third successive transfer window under the Todd Boehly regime. But they have also made some clever signings, including Romeo Lavia.  And Mauricio Pochettino's men began their campaign with a 1-1 draw versus Liverpool last week.

The corresponding fixture last season saw West Ham coming from a goal down to hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, with former Blues full-back Emerson Palmieri scoring the equaliser.

Team News:

West Ham:

A lot of the focus in this match is likely to be on the midfield, with West Ham fans on the lookout for James Ward Prowse's debut. His move from Southampton has gone through and there is a very real chance that David Moyes will use him straight away.

It is very unlikely that Edson Alvarez is going to play though, as he is still trying to get up to the fitness level needed after he stopped training with Ajax ahead of the move. Moyes is expected to keep Alphonse Areola in goal.

Chelsea:

There are a fair few injuries for Mauricio Pochettino to contend with early in his Chelsea career. He is going to be without Reece James, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku and Trevoh Chalobah for at least this match.

The good news is that Pochettino should be able to use a defensive midfielder in this one, as Caicedo will be eligible to start the game after his record move from Brighton. Chelsea looked very open against Liverpool, so Pochettino may well bring him straight in.

Romeo Lavia has now joined the club as well, but is not expected to come straight into the starting eleven.

West Ham vs Chelsea: Head to Head

Chelsea have a good historical record against West Ham United and have won 54 out of the 120 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to West Ham United's 43 victories.

West Ham United have alternated between winning and failing to win in their last eight Premier League home games against Chelsea and held the Blues to a 1-1 draw in this fixture last season.

Chelsea have won 149 London Derby matches in the Premier League so far and could become only the second team after Arsenal to win 150 such games in the competition.

West Ham United ended their 2022-23 Premier League campaign with consecutive home victories and won home games against Manchester United and Leeds United in May this year.

Chelsea have won only five of their last 30 Premier League games - their lowest tally of victories across such a span since 1988.

Predicted Line-ups:

West Ham predicted lineup (4-3-3): Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Paqueta, Ward-Prowse, Soucek; Benrahma, Antonio, Bowen

Chelsea predicted lineup (3-4-2-1): Sanchez; Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Gusto, Caicedo, Fernandez, Chilwell; Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson

WHU vs CHE: Fantasy XI

Sanchez; Disasi, Silva, Zouma, Paqueta, Ward-Prowse, Caicedo, Fernandez, Bowen, Sterling; Jackson.