A second Premier League London derby in the space of a week awaits the Stamford Bridge faithful on Sunday, as Chelsea pit their wits against fellow European hopefuls West Ham United.
The Blues earned a merited 2-0 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in Thursday's capital clash, while the Irons have had a week to reflect on a frenetic 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool.
Match preview
© Reuters
Matching an all-time club record by completing their 10th Premier League double over Tottenham, Chelsea became the latest in a long line of teams to expose the Lilywhites' weaknesses from set-pieces, striking either side of the half-time whistle from a free-kick scenario.
Firstly, Trevoh Chalobah was allowed to make an unchecked run to meet Conor Gallagher's delightful delivery and head home into the top corner, before Cole Palmer's fierce strike rattled the crossbar, and Nicolas Jackson nodded in the rebound despite the presence of two white jerseys.
Even with a crippling 14-strong injury list, leaving Mauricio Pochettino down to the bare bones in terms of senior players available for selection, the Blues were the dominant force throughout the 90 minutes against the Argentine's former club, ending a three-game winless sequence in impressive style.
Eighth place in the table now belongs to the Blues on account of their midweek success - they leapfrogged none other than upcoming opponents West Ham - and they only have a two-point gap to Newcastle United and three-point disadvantage to Manchester United in the heated race for European qualification.
Further exorcising their previous Stamford Bridge demons, Chelsea now have six wins and a draw to boast from their last seven contests at their West London home in all competitions, scoring multiple goals in each of those matches and keeping clean sheets in both of their last two.
© Reuters
Having enhanced their European credentials in midweek, Chelsea could now strengthen their chances of a top-seven finish even further while simultaneously damaging West Ham's bid for a place in the revamped continental tournaments for 2024-25, and the form book suggests that such a scenario is highly likely on Sunday.
Going out of the Europa League to unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen did not relight a fire within David Moyes's side, who only have one win to boast from their last nine games and are without a victory in each of their most recent five continentally and domestically.
However, the Irons put in a praiseworthy display against faltering title-chasers Liverpool last week, as Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio forced a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but their European destiny is out of their own hands as they linger in ninth spot, two points below Chelsea having played a game more.
Sunday's game is not even the most daunting away trip left on West Ham's 2023-24 schedule - they head to the Etihad to face Manchester City on the final day of the season - and they are still without a Premier League clean sheet on the road in 2024, most recently shutting out Arsenal in December.
The Europa Conference League champions prevailed 3-1 when Chelsea visited the London Stadium in August, though, and they could now complete just their third Premier League double over the Blues, but the last three Stamford Bridge battles have gone the hosts' way.
Team News
© Reuters
Chelsea's 14-man absentee list may very well stretch to 15 ahead of Sunday, as young right-back Alfie Gilchrist trudged off with the physio towards the end of the win over Tottenham, allowing 17-year-old Josh Acheampong - who turns 18 on Sunday - to come on for his first-team debut.
Gilchrist's unspecified issue may not be anything more sinister than cramp, though, and Chelsea revealed that both Levi Colwill (toe) and Christopher Nkunku (thigh) were back in team training before Thursday's game, but neither of them made the cut.
As a result, their availabilities for Sunday remain shrouded in uncertainty - the same goes for knock victim Axel Disasi - but Enzo Fernandez (hernia), Wesley Fofana (knee), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Lesley Ugochukwu (thigh), Reece James (thigh), Raheem Sterling (back), Malo Gusto (knee), Ben Chilwell (knee), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee), Thiago Silva (groin) and Robert Sanchez (unspecified) are definitely unavailable.
In contrast, West Ham boss Moyes only has a three-player injury list to contend with, and there is a chance that two of the infirm trio could all shake off their problems in time to travel down to Stamford Bridge.
George Earthy's distressing clash of heads has not led to any serious damage, so he could be out of concussion protocol this weekend, while Dinos Mavropanos (knock) is battling to return in time for the derby too. Nayef Aguerd (ankle) has been ruled out.
A fit Mavropanos is a candidate to step in for Angelo Ogbonna, while Moyes made the brave decision to demote James Ward-Prowse to the bench against Liverpool and may see no need to recall the ex-Southampton man here, despite his terrific free-kick winner for the Saints at Stamford Bridge last term.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Gilchrist, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Mavropanos, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
We say: Chelsea 2-1 West Ham United
Chelsea's feats in the face of injury-related adversity on Thursday were remarkable, and the Blues' penchant for scoring multiple goals in home matches should not cease against a West Ham side without a clean sheet in 15 Premier League games.
Moyes's refreshed men should enjoy a bit more success in front of goal than a toothless Tottenham did on Thursday, but we still give the home specialists the edge in this one, even if their overworked 11 starters may be pushing through the pain.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
