Will Thomas Tuchel celebrate the next derby victory?.
Early on Saturday afternoon, the English Premier League will kick off the 15th matchday of the current season. Fans can look forward to a football treat. The city derby between West Ham and Chelsea will take place in the capital. The Hammers have become one of the top teams in recent months and this clash pits the fourth-placed team in the table against the current league leaders.
However, Tuchel’s charges will feel the breath of the chasing pack with only one (Manchester City) and two points (Liverpool FC) ahead. The bookmakers see the Tuchel eleven as relatively clear favourites, which is also due to the recent West Ham results. The Moyes eleven got a little bit of sand in their gears and recently the Hammers failed to celebrate three wins in a row, against the reigning Champions League winners they are threatening another game without a win.
The clear favourite role for Chelsea is also due to the Blues’ outstanding away record this season. Chelsea have collected 19 out of a possible 21 points away from home so far, winning their most recent five away games. For West Ham vs. Chelsea, odds of around 1.80 are currently offered for the prediction on the visitors. The match kicks off at the London Stadium early on Saturday afternoon at 13:30.
West Ham – Statistics & current form
The final international break of the year came at a most inopportune time for the Hammers. Prior to the November internationals, the Moyes eleven was in red-hot form, celebrating four league wins in a row, including against Liverpool Football Club.
Three wins in a row
This run was broken by the break, however, and narrow defeats to Wolves and Manchester City followed. During the week, West Ham missed several very good opportunities at home against Brighton. The Hammers were punished for this negligent use of chances in the closing stages. A late goal meant a 1-1 draw and the third winless game in a row.
Nevertheless, West Ham United can look back on the best start to a season in the last ten years. Only in the 2014/15 season did the Hammers also have 24 points after 14 matchdays, but then the goal difference was two goals worse. Compared to last year, the Hammers are currently up by three points.
High-scoring home games
The 1-1 draw against the Seagulls is an exception as it was only the second home game at the London Stadium this season where betting on the under 2.5 was the right decision. On average, there were 3.29 goals to be seen per home game.
It is striking that many goals happen especially in the second half. Eight goals were scored in the first period (goal ratio 5:3), almost twice as many (15 – goal ratio 8:7) in the second period.
Predicted West Ham line-up:
Fabianski – Johnson, Zouma, Dawson, Coufal – Soucek, Rice – Benrahma, Fornals, Bowen – Antonio
Last matches played by West Ham:
Premier League
12/01 2021 – West Ham 1 – 1 Brighton
11/28 2021 – Manchester City 2 – 1 West Ham
Europa League Grp. H
11/25 2021 – Rapid Vienna 0 – 2 West Ham
Premier League
11/20 2021 – Wolverhampton 1 – 0 West Ham
11/07 2021 – West Ham 3 – 2 Liverpool FC
Chelsea – Statistics & current form
In their first ten Premier League games this season, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has only had to make three saves. The defence has become a great strength under Thomas Tuchel, but recently the Blues eleven has lacked a bit of stability
We stole the three points
The German head coach even went as far as calling it “three stolen points” after the 2-1 win at Vicarage Road on Wednesday night. The Hornets were the better team, even in Tuchel’s view, but individual class saved Chelsea the three points.
At times, Chelsea’s defensive construct was reminiscent of recent weeks under Frank Lampard. Ex-Cologne man Emmanuel Dennis’ goal has also seen Chelsea concede three goals in their last four league games. Meanwhile, a bet on “both teams score? Yes” is again a good option. For West Ham vs Chelsea, betting odds around 2.00 are offered for this prediction.
19 points collected away from home out of a possible 21
Tuchel was not sparing with criticism in the press conference and wanted to shake up his team, because there was a lot of potential for improvement in terms of play. One bright spot was the performance of Kai Havertz, whom Tuchel also excluded from his criticism. In the end, the sixth away win in the seventh game (one draw) was achieved. This means that Chelsea’s away statistics this season are significantly better than their home statistics (4-2-1).
Predicted Chelsea line-up:
Mendy – Christensen, Rudiger, Thiago Silva – Alonso, Jorginho, Saul Niguez, Azpilicueta – Mount, Pulisic – Lukaku
Last matches played by Chelsea:
Premier League
12/01 2021 – Watford 1 – 2 Chelsea London
11/28 2021 – Chelsea London 1 – 1 Manchester United
Champions League Grp. H
11/23 2021 – Chelsea London 4 – 0 Juventus Turin
Premier League
11/20 2021 – Leicester 0 – 3 Chelsea London
11/06 2021 – Chelsea London 1 – 1 Burnley
West Ham – Chelsea Direct comparison / H2H record
The two capital clubs have faced each other exactly 100 times in the English football top flight. The Blues have only a razor-thin lead in the direct comparison (42 wins compared to 37 defeats). After West Ham surprisingly won both games against Chelsea in 2019/20, the reigning Champions League winners clinched the “double” against the Hammers last season. The last time Chelsea achieved three wins en suite against West Ham was between March 2010 and April 2011.
In both the 3-0 home win (then still under Frank Lampard) and the 1-0 victory at the London Stadium, the Chelsea defence remained without conceding a goal. Nevertheless, West Ham have won three of their last six PL home games against the Blues, previously needing 14 attempts for three wins.
West Ham – Chelsea Tip
You can’t always shine on the way to the championship, you need to get some dirty wins. Such was the Blues’ success against Watford during the week. In terms of play, however, a clear improvement in performance will be necessary at the London Stadium in order to prevail against the Hammers. The Moyes team is not in top form (three games without a win), but they are a bit stronger than the Hornets. Due to Thomas Tuchel’s strong derby record, however, a bet on the visitors is certainly justifiable for West Ham against Chelsea.
Even more interesting than that bet is the prediction that both teams will score. Chelsea have developed a very strong defence under “TT”, but recently inadequacies have led to goals being conceded time and again. With Michail Antonio (five goals, five assists in the last ten derbies) and the goal-hungry midfielder Tomas Soucek, the home side can also be expected to score. Accordingly, a bet of 6 units is recommended for the prediction of goals for both teams in West Ham against Chelsea.
