Chelsea drew their previous match vs Valencia in the Champions League and next up they shift their focus to the Premier League where they take on West Ham United on Saturday.
The Blues had been on a superb run in the league but last weekend their winning run was halted by Manchester City as Frank Lampard’s men went down 2-1 at the Etihad.
But this weekend, they are expected to pick up an easy win since the Hammers have been going through a really rough phase suffering four losses in their last five league outings.
Manuel Pellegrini apart from the poor form of his side is also dealing with some key injuries meaning once again, he is expected to put forward a patched-up first XI at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea team news vs West Ham:
The biggest concern for Lampard will be with the injury to Tammy Abraham which he picked up during the UCL clash vs Valencia on Wednesday.
The striker landed awkwardly while challenging for a header and he eventually had to be stretchered off the pitch.
Initial reports had suggested that Abraham could have sustained a serious injury but later the player himself doused most of the fears claiming that the injury might not be as bad as it looked at first.
Emerson has been in poor form during the past couple of games meaning Azpiliceuta will play at left-back while youngster Reece James keeps his place in the starting XI vs WHUFC on Saturday.
Antonio Rudiger has returned back to training earlier this week but this weekend’s match might be too early for him to make a comeback which means Tomori and Zouma will once again pair up in central defence.
Ross Barkley is expected to be omitted from the first XI but the England international could get a few minutes under his belt especially if Chelsea manage to wrap up all the three points pretty early on.
Callum Hudson-Odoi missed the Man City as well as the Valencia game and the winger is expected to be unavailable for the West Ham clash as well.
This means both Pulisic and Willian should play on the wings this weekend but some reports claim Pedro could be handed a start in place of Willian.
With Tammy Abraham likely to remain sidelined for this match, it will be Michy Batshuayi who will get the nod upfront during the weekend.
Chelsea predicted XI vs WHUFC:
Starting XI: Kepa Arrizabalaga; Reece James, Tomori, Kurt Zouma, Azpiliceuta; Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante; Pulisic, Batshuayi, Willian/Pedro.
