Chelsea vs West Ham Premier League LIVE Football Score 4 Dec 2021

Match Info

0.17 3.38

Chelsea will be looking to stretch their advantage at the top of the Premier League table to four points when they travel to fourth-placed West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 victory at Watford on Wednesday, while West Ham were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion on the same night.

West Ham have won seven, drawn three and lost four of their 14 Premier League matches this season to collect 24 points, which has left them in fourth position in the table and very much in the mix for a top-four finish.

There is a chance that the Hammers could have dropped to fifth by the time that this match kicks off, with fifth-placed Arsenal away to Manchester United on Thursday night, but a win would see David Moyes’s side end the next set of fixtures in the top four regardless of what happens elsewhere.

West Ham suffered a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City last weekend but were on the verge of securing a huge three points at home to Brighton on Wednesday, only for Neal Maupay to come up with an 89th-minute leveller for the Seagulls, meaning that Moyes’s team are now without a victory in their last three league encounters.

A victory over Chelsea would lead the Hammers nicely into back-to-back away games against Burnley and Arsenal, but a defeat would certainly leave them vulnerable, with plenty of teams looking to capitalise behind them.

West Ham lost both league matches against Chelsea last season, including a 1-0 defeat at the London Stadium, but they did record a 3-2 victory over the Blues on home soil last July.

Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Manchester United in the league last weekend but managed to return to winning ways on Wednesday, recording a 2-1 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road.

Hakim Ziyech’s effort in the 72nd minute proved to be the difference between the two sides and ensured that the Blues would remain top of the table entering Saturday’s London derby.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are seemingly involved in a three-way title race with second-placed Manchester City and third-placed Liverpool, and the European Cup holders could easily find themselves down in third position if they fail to overcome the Hammers.

Chelsea have a relatively kind festive fixture list, facing Leeds United, Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Brighton before the end of the month, but January’s first two league matches are against Liverpool and Man City.

Tuchel claimed that his side were “lucky” to triumph at Watford on Wednesday, and the German will undoubtedly be looking for an improvement in this weekend’s contest with Moyes’s side.

West Ham will again be without the services of Angelo Ogbonna due to a long-term knee problem, but the Hammers are hopeful that Aaron Cresswell will recover in time to feature.

Cresswell’s return could relegate Vladimir Coufal to the bench, but there are unlikely to be any changes elsewhere, with Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen again supporting Michail Antonio.

Nikola Vlasic, Arthur Masuaku and Manuel Lanzini are among the options for change, although it seems unlikely that Moyes will decide to shuffle his pack due to the importance of the match.

As for Chelsea, Mateo Kovacic and Ben Chilwell will again definitely be absent, while Trevor Chalobah will miss out with the hamstring problem that he suffered against Watford.

N’Golo Kante is also still absent with a knee problem, but Reece James has been passed fit after missing out against the Hornets, and the England international should come back into the side.

There will be a number of changes from the side that started on Wednesday, with Thiago Silva, Romelu Lukaku and Jorginho among those expected to come into the starting XI.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek might continue in central midfield, though, with Saul Niguez struggling to impress this season, and Kovacic and Kante both on the sidelines

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• West Ham have won three of their last six home league games against Chelsea (D1, L2), matching their total tally from the previous 14 meetings.
• Chelsea can win three Premier League fixtures in a row against West Ham for the first time in 10 years.

West Ham United

• West Ham have failed to win three successive league games following a run of four victories.
• However, 24 points after 14 fixtures represents their best start to a Premier League season.
• The Hammers’ tally of 20 top-flight wins in 2021 is their highest in a single calendar year since 1986 – only Manchester City and Chelsea have better records since the turn of the year (with 30 and 22 victories respectively).
• West Ham have lost two of their last four Premier League London derbies, as many as they had in their previous 10 such games.
• Five of West Ham’s last six top-flight home goals have come via a corner.
• David Moyes has won only five of his 32 league matches as a manager against Chelsea. All five victories have come at home, including two with West Ham.
• Michail Antonio has scored 11 Premier League goals in London derbies and registered 10 assists – both figures are club records.
• Tomas Soucek has scored six headers since making his debut in February 2020, ranking him third in the Premier League during that period.

Chelsea

• Chelsea have lost just one of their 14 league fixtures this season.
• The Blues have won their past four Premier League away games by an aggregate score of 12-1.
• They have lost just two of their 22 away games in all competitions under Thomas Tuchel, keeping 13 clean sheets.
• The west London side have conceded six league goals this season – the lowest amount of any team in the top five European leagues.
• Chelsea are on a top-flight record run of seven successive away victories in London derbies.
• The Blues have made 50 changes to their starting XI in the Premier League this season, the most by a side after 14 matches of a season since Manchester United in 2009.
• They have had 16 different goalscorers in the Premier League this season, at least three more than any other club.
• Thomas Tuchel has won eight of his nine Premier League London derby matches. His win rate of 89% is the best of any top-flight manager to have taken charge of more than one.
• Mason Mount is Chelsea’s top scorer under Tuchel, with 10 goals in all competitions.
• Mount has been directly involved in six goals (four goals and two assists) in his last five Premier League games, as many as in his previous 20 appearances combined.
• Romelu Lukaku has scored a career-best nine Premier League goals against West Ham.