How West Ham could line-up against Chelsea with three big changes expected
Today at 02:09 PM
West Ham United will be hoping to get their campaign back on track when they welcome Chelsea to East London for Saturday afternoon’s London derby.
The Hammers have made an awful start to the Premier League season, and their performances have drawn ire from the club faithful given the huge success of their summer transfer window.
Julen Lopetegui is increasingly under pressure after West Ham picked up just four points from their opening four Premier League games and are currently languishing in 14th place.
The Irons came agonisingly close to a third defeat in four games when they faced Fulham last weekend, but a last-minute strike from unlikely hero Danny Ings spared their blushes and rescued a point.
The result flattered Lopetegui’s side, considering their performance was far from convincing, and they’ll need to step things up when they take on Chelsea.
The Blues are still budding under their new manager but will make the trip to East London on the back of a confidence-boosting 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
Loeptegui will need to tweak a few things from the side that drew 1-1 against Fulham, and we could see a couple of surprising picks, especially in attack.
Alphonse Areola is the Hammers’ number-one goalkeeper and will retain his place between the sticks.
Emerson is facing a race against time to be fit for Saturday’s early kick-off after picking up an injury in the draw against Fulham.
With the Italian likely to miss out, Lopetegui could be forced to deploy Aaron Wan-Bissaka at left-back while Vladimir Coufal slots in at right-back.
Konstantinos Mavropanos put in a stellar performance against Fulham, so he should continue his partnership with Max Kilman at the heart of the defence.
Edson Alvarez and Guido Rodriguez are expected to anchor the midfield, while Lucas Paqueta, Mohamed Kudus, and Jarrod Bowen line up behind the striker.
The headline tweak could come up top with Ings in contention to make his first start of the season as Niclas Fullkrug continues to recover from a calf injury.
Predicted West Ham line-up vs Chelsea
(4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Mavropanos, Kilman, Wan-Bisakka; Alvarez, Rodriguez; Kudus, Paqueta, Bowen; Ings.
