West Ham v Chelsea Betting – Sunday Premier League

Upton Park
Sunday, December 20th
Kick-off: 4pm

Chelsea were handed an early Christmas present on Saturday, when London neighbours Fulham trounced Manchester United 3-0 at Craven Cottage. That will have been the most dour display from his men, that Alex Ferguson will have seen for some time, and that comes on the back of the previous weekend’s 1-0 at home to Aston Villa. This is all greatly affects the race for the Premier League title. Chelsea have been in a little dip of form themselves, losing to Manchester City, drawing at home with Everton and then looking unimpressive in a 2-1 victory over bottom side Portsmouth. That win, courtesy of a Frank Lampard penalty, looks even more valuable now, as Pompey got the better of United.

Chelsea can now put the icing on the cake for the weekend, by beating lowly West Ham on Sunday, and by doing so, would stretch their advantage over Alex Ferguson’s men to six points. That would give Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti a nice cushion going into the busy festive fixture list, and it leaves Manchester United with Arsenal just two points behind them with a game in hand over the Old Trafford unit. West Ham, under the guidance of former Chelsea favourite Gianfranco Zola, look to be in a lot of trouble at the foot of the league (incidentally, it was Carlo Ancelotti, who actually sold the little genius Zola, to Chelsea back in 1996!) The Hammers are now level on points at the bottom with Portsmouth. West Ham are struggling for goals, and are missing striker Carlton Cole through injury, which is another Chelsea connection.

West Ham are having injury problems, which is not helping their survival battle by any stretch of the imagination, but Zola though should have central defender Matthew Upson back for duty. This will be somewhat welcome for him, after hearing the news that Didier Drogba is fit again after sitting out Chelsea’s midweek game. Chelsea need to get back to firing on all cylinders like they were a couple of weeks ago, where the defence was tight and goals were flying in from all areas of the pitch. But their defensive frailties were highlighted again in the 3-3 draw against Everton, as Chelsea failed to deal with balls from set pieces flying into their box. Most of the 14 goals they have conceded in the Premier League this season, have come from set pieces.

But, for a team who has scored 42 times in their seventeen matches, they can usually paper over any odd cracks that come along at the back. A lot of the pressure and finger pointing has been made at goalkeeper Petr Cech, who, while still remains one of the best shot stoppers in the world, is looking undecided in controlling his penalty area when balls are coming into the box. Can West Ham take advantage of that? While Chelsea will be working hard to cut those defensive errors out (they still have the best defensive record in the league though), West Ham will know that it is a chink in Chelsea’s armour, and could be a way to salvage something from the match. Chelsea’s only real injury concern which affects selection, is that of Michael Essien, who is definitely out.

West Ham to win: 15/2 at Totesport
Draw: 15/4 at Victor Chandler
Chelsea to win: 2/5 at SkyBet

Betting Advice: Chelsea on their day, should be a good couple of goals or more better than West Ham. They may have had their confidence dented just a little bit, but surely Carlo Ancelotti can buoy them up. They drew ex-boss Jose Mourinho in the Champions League next round, they have seen Manchester United and Liverpool lose on Saturday, and that should all be enough to spark some extra life into them. All three of their defeats though, have come on the road, so they may be a little hesitant. If they get two goals in front, it should be game over, as the Hammers are having a lot of trouble finding the net.
Chelsea to win by 2 Goals or more: 6/5 at Bet365