Chelsea v West Ham: Premier League prediction, betting preview and free tip

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Chelsea v West Ham United in the Premier League on Monday

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League, 8pm, Monday

Best bet

West Ham or draw double chance
2pts 17-10 general

Team news

Chelsea
Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi could force their way into contention

West Ham
Jarrod Bowen is nursing a knock but Michail Antonio could return to the squad. Arthur Masuaku is out with a knee injury.

Match preview

Chelsea spent the first couple of months of the season demonstrating that they could have firm Premier League title credentials, but two defeats have sent them sliding to eighth in the table and West Ham will be desperate to twist the knife at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

There is little room for manoeuvre in a congested top half of the table and successive losses against Everton and Wolves show improvement is required, especially as 12th-placed Newcastle are the highest-ranked team they have beaten among their six victories.

It is a pitfall to read too much into a couple of matches but is is still questionable why they are just 4-9 to beat the Hammers.

Maybe six months ago it would have been understandable as David Moyes's team seemed to stumble from week to week and staved off relegation in the final couple of weeks.

But they look a much tougher proposition this term and are just a point behind their London rivals after just one defeat in their last six matches - and they were unfortunate to suffer that after dominating against Manchester United for long periods.

The days of round pegs filling square holes appear to have ended. Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek have formed an excellent partnership in the heart of midfield, the look solid at the back and can utilise pace up front while also being a threat from set pieces, as Leeds discovered at Elland Road in their last away games.

They have won 3-0 at Leicester, earned a point at Tottenham despite being 3-0 down with eight minutes to go and put up a decent performance in a 2-1 defeat at Liverpool, so they have done well in some big away games.

And there is a feeling that Chelsea are not clicking at the moment, with new signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz beginning to look leggy.

Manager Frank Lampard was saying earlier this week that his high-profile captures from the Bundesliga have had little time to adjust with there having been such a quick turnover between campaigns.

Werner has the potential to be a classy operator, but he hasn't scored in his last eight appearances, while Havertz, signed to a great fanfare from Bayer Leverkusen, has looked even more off the pace and could find his starting spot threatened.

Olivier Giroud gives them a physical outlet up front and he could thrive on some decent service from both flanks, where Reece James and Ben Chilwell have established themselves a valuable cogs in the wheel.

But that might not be enough. The Hammers' away record deserves to be respected and they should be confident after beating the Blues in both league games last season.

Key stat

Chelsea have won just one of their last six games against West Ham

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