Chelsea – West Ham Prediction & Picks (08.04.2018)

Chelsea and West Ham United meet at Stamford Bridge, in a match for the 33rd round of the Premier League. In the last head-to-head for this edition of the league on 09-12-2017, West Ham United won at home against (1-0). The history of direct confrontations played in this stadium is favorable to the home team, which in the last 4 matches won 2 and drew 2. Indeed, the last time these two teams played a match in this stadium, on 15-08- 2016, for the Premier League, Chelsea won by (2-1). E. Hazard (47 ‘) and Diego Costa (89’) scored the goals of the game, for Chelsea, and J. Collins (77 ‘), for West Ham United. Particular attention is required for the home / away condition, since both teams present significantly different results at home and abroad.

Chelsea:

After 17 wins, 5 draws and 9 losses, the home team is currently in the 5 th position, with 56 points won. In the last match, they have lost at home against Tottenham Hotspur by (1-3), after in the previous match they have won (2-1) at home, against Crystal Palace. This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 4 wins, 5 draws and 6 losses in away matches, with 22 goals scored and 18 conceded; against 8 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses at their stadium, with 26 goals scored and 11 conceded. In their last 10 home matches for the championship Chelsea won 7, tied 1 and lost 2, for which they won 22 points out of 30 possible. In their home league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (7 out of 16 matches). They have not been very strong defensively, since they have suffered goals in 7 of the last 10 matches, but their offense has scored frequently, since they have scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 31 matches in this competition, they have only won 1 of the 10 matches in which they have conceded the first goal. In the last 16 home matches for this competition there is 1 period that stands out: they have conceded 5 of their 14 goals between minutes (61′-75 ‘).

The Chelsea starts for this game with a snub at home against Tottenham, by 1-3, totaling in this way the third official game without tasting the taste of victory. We emphasize that the landlords go through a negative period, since they add only 3 wins in the last 10 games played. In this game against the fans, coach Antonio Conte must keep the team in 3-4-2-1, favoring ball possession and organized attacks, especially through the right: Moses is very fast and competent in transport of the ball towards the attack. Morata and Hazard are the best Chelsea markers in the championship, with 11 goals scored each. We also emphasize that the owners present quality in both sectors, as they scored on average 1.69 goals and suffered 0.88 goals per game. For this game the local coach can not count on Barkley and David Luiz, both with physical problems.

West Ham United:

The away team is currently in the 14 th position of the league, with 33 points won, after 8 wins, 9 draws and 14 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost in a home match against Burnley, by (0-3). In the last match, they won in a home match against Southampton, by (3-0). This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 3 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses in away matches; against 5 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses at their stadium. For the league, West Ham United won 8 points out of 30 possible points, after 2 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses in the last 10 home matches. They have not been very strong defensively, since they have suffered goals in 8 of the last 10 matches, but their offense has scored frequently, since they have scored goals in 9 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In their away matches there is a tendency for goals, since 12 of the last 16 matches for this competition have ended with Over 2,5 goals. In 31 matches in this tournament, they have conceded the first goal 16 times and have only won 1 result.

West Ham United comes to this game motivated, having won at home to Southampton, 3-0, returning to the triumphs after three games without success. However, it must be emphasized that visitors occupy a position very close to the descent zone. In this game away from home, coach David Moyes must play 5-4-1, privileging the organization of his block and the direct passes for the attack. Marko Arnautovic, the player who usually occupies the attack front, is the best marker of West Ham United, with 9 goals scored. We emphasize that the visitors present several defensive failures: they suffered on average 2.31 goals per game. For this game the visiting coach is forced to leave out Andy Carroll and Obiang, both injured.