West Ham v Chelsea Odds : The Hammers look to end their goalless streak against a confident Blues side
Chelsea are valued as 4/6 favourites to pick up a win away to West Ham as Mourinho continues on his quest to try and land a trophy in his first season back at Chelsea
West Ham have not been at their best this season and the home side could face a tough game on Saturday evening as they host high-flying Chelsea.
The Hammers have been disappointing this season and their lack of goals has left Sam Allardyce’s side sitting in 16th place with their goal difference actually keeping them out of the relegation zone.
There could be a massive boost for the home side though as Alou Diarra could return to the squad despite initial fears that the Frenchman could be out for 6 months following a cruciate ligament injury in their League Cup clash against Cheltenham.
West Ham |
5/1 |
Draw  |
3/1 |
Chelsea |
4/6 |
potential return will be a huge boost to the squad that was hit by another injury setback over the international break as defender Joey O’Brien was forced to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland squad with a hamstring injury earlier this week.
Chelsea are once again out to try and win their first title in 4 years and Mourinho has got his quest off to a decent start as The Blues currently sit in 4th place 4 points behind leaders Arsenal in the league table.
There doesn’t seem to be any new fitness concerns for Chelsea ahead of the trip across the capital with many of Chelsea’s top names returning from the international break without any new problems.
After bagging several goals in his last few outings for Chelsea, Samuel Eto’o is likely to be Mourinho’s
preferred lead striker at Upton Park ahead of Fernando Torres who is slowly starting to claw back some consistent form for the reigning Europa League champions.
Meanwhile, new signing Kevin De Bruyne is expected to face yet more time out of the matchday squad which was only emphasised further this week by comments made by his Belgium and Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard.
Hazard suggested that De Bruyne ought to look for a move away from Stamford Bridge during the transfer window as he wasn’t likely to be part of Jose Mourinho’s plans any time soon.
Although there may be a little bit of strife within the ranks at Stamford Bridge, it is unlikely to be a distraction that will affect Chelsea on Saturday evening as they expect to claim the three points against West Ham and chase down the leaders at the top of the table.
