Chelsea play host to West Ham United in Saturday's London derby with the club sitting in 10th position in the Premier League standings.
While the Hammers make the short trip to Stamford Bridge in 14th spot, they will move level on points with their city rivals with a win.
Match preview
© Reuters
When transfer deals are not getting confirmed until after midnight on transfer deadline day, it is arguably an acknowledgement that things are not necessarily going swimmingly in terms of progression both on and off the pitch.
That is true with regards to Chelsea, who have only collected seven points from a possible 15 in the top flight and were left to react quickly in the transfer market to secure the signature of Denis Zakaria from Juventus.
However, more long-term planning went into the acquisition of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is currently sidelined with a broken jaw, and Thomas Tuchel can have no complaints with the club's efforts in the summer transfer window.
Nevertheless, the German must now find a way to get Chelsea back on track, particularly after their poor showing in the 2-1 defeat at Southampton on Tuesday night.
Although Tuchel was correct in his assessment that Chelsea were disjointed and easy to beat, a quick solution needs to be found or the Blues will be out of the title race with barely a month gone in the season.
© Reuters
David Moyes may have had similar concerns about keeping West Ham in the hunt for the top seven having witnessed his side lose three successive matches in the Premier League.
However, collecting four points from games with Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur have put a different slant on things, the Hammers now having some momentum ahead of a second London derby in the space of three days.
West Ham were terrific in the clash with Spurs, somehow failing to take advantage of the chances that they created in the second half, but it was a step in the right direction against their most illustrious rivals.
With Lucas Paqueta also through the door at the London Stadium for a club-record fee, everyone associated with West Ham will naturally be optimistic that the quality and belief is there when it comes to catapulting themselves into the top half of the table.
Both teams have recorded three wins apiece from their last six matches between the clubs, but Chelsea have prevailed in the most recent two meetings at Stamford Bridge.
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Tuchel may be prepared to hand an immediate debut to Wesley Fofana with the former Leicester City man potentially slotting into a role on the right-hand side of a back three.
With Zakaria and Aubameyang out of contention, Conor Gallagher should return to feature in midfield, while Armando Broja will hope to be provided with an opportunity in attack.
Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all returned to training after illness, a knee issue and hamstring injury respectively.
Moyes must decide whether to go with a back three or four, but former Chelsea defender Emerson Palmieri is in line to return on the left-hand side in some capacity.
With Paqueta likely to remain among the West Ham replacements, the rest of the team could stay the same with Ben Johnson, Craig Dawson and Nayef Aguerd all expected to stay sidelined.
Gianluca Scamacca may return to the substitutes' bench if he has fully recovered from the virus which kept him out of the Spurs game.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly; Azpilicueta, Gallagher, Jorginho, Cucurella; Mount, Sterling, Broja
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Kehrer, Zouma, Palmieri; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals; Antonio
We say: Chelsea 2-2 West Ham United
With both teams having endured a mixed start to the campaign, there is a feeling that something has to give on Saturday with each side requiring three points. Although we feel that West Ham will be able to breach the Chelsea backline, the West Londoners may improve at the other end to claim a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
