West Ham went into the international break following a mixed start to the new season, picking up just three points from a possible nine available in the Premier League as well as edging past Bournemouth in the EFL Cup.
The Hammers returned to action last weekend when they rescued a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham, with substitute Danny Ings netting a dramatic 95th-minute equaliser – West Ham’s sixth-latest Premier League goal on record (since 2006-07) – to cancel out a first-half strike from Raul Jimenez.
Julen Lopetegui stated after the match that he was “happy with the commitment” shown by his players to fight back and salvage a point, but he has insisted that his new-look side “have a lot of work to do” in the coming weeks and months if they wish to climb the table.
Currently sitting 14th in the Premier League with four points, West Ham enter Saturday’s contest with Chelsea seeking to avoid losing each of their first three home games in a single season for the first time, having already suffered defeats to Aston Villa (1-2) and Manchester City (1-3) this term.
The Hammers have alternated between winning (five) and not winning (D2 L3) in their last 10 top-flight encounters with Chelsea, with seven points accumulated from their last three meetings at the London Stadium (W2 D1), including three collected in a 3-1 home victory in August of last season.
Amidst reports of off-field civil war between Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, Enzo Maresca has portrayed a relaxed manner in the dugout in the early stages as head coach of the Blues, steering his side to seven points in their opening four Premier League matches.
Chelsea are yet to celebrate top-flight success at Stamford Bridge this term, most recently drawing 1-1 with Crystal Palace before the international break, but they have impressed on the road with back-to-back victories over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth.
After putting Wolves to the sword 6-2 in August, Chelsea left it late to claim maximum points in a slender 1-0 win over Bournemouth last weekend, with substitute Christopher Nkunku netting an 86th-minute winner at the Vitality Stadium.
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Chelsea are now preparing for five fixtures across three different competitions over a 16-day period, with Saturday’s clash away against West Ham followed by four successive home matches against Barrow (EFL Cup), Brighton & Hove Albion, Gent (Europa Conference League) and Nottingham Forest.
The Blues may have lost at the London Stadium last season, but they will still be confident of success against West Ham this weekend, as they have beaten the Hammers 30 times in 56 previous Premier League meetings, only winning more times against Tottenham Hotspur (35) in the division’s history.
