West Ham vs Chelsea prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-08-19 15:30.
A late equaliser denied West Ham maximum points at Bournemouth on Premier League (PL) opening weekend, with the Hammers still adapting to life after Declan Rice, but there are few fixtures better than this one if they want to redeem themselves. Here, they meet revered rivals Chelsea for the 121st time in an East vs West London saga that turns 100 years old this October (W43, D23, L54).
For West Ham, this will be the earliest ever staging of a home derby against Chelsea in the PL era. As such, their freshness could be an asset as they look to build further on a positive H2H home record against the Blues in any competition since moving to the London Stadium (W4, D2, L2). Their manager David Moyes knows a thing or two about taking on Chelsea too, meeting them more times (46) than any other club, but his success has been sorely limited (W7, D13, L26).
Chelsea also began with a 1-1 draw, though it was more of a ‘point rescued’ against title contenders Liverpool. However, it’s now just one win in 13 league games for Mauricio Pochettino’s men – and that unlucky number also features prominently in Chelsea’s away form, with a solitary shutout across their previous 13 PL road trips (W2, D3, L8).
With the last three of those losses also seeing Chelsea concede inside 20 minutes, there’s a clear flaw in the impenetrable armour once taken for granted in John Terry’s heyday. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as coach Pochettino’s personal record against West Ham is just about in positive territory (W6, D4, L5), despite him losing the most recent clash 1-0 in April 2019.
Players to watch: Just 66 days after scoring the UEFA Europa Conference League final winner, Jarrod Bowen netted for West Ham on matchday one. It was his sixth straight goal to come after half-time, prompting Moyes to reveal he will be trialled as a centre-forward, where he previously played for Hull City. As for Chelsea, Nicolas Jackson is set to start once more after a full 90 minutes against Liverpool that Pochettino hailed as “fantastic”. Prior to moving in the summer, half of his last eight goals for Villarreal were match openers.
Hot streak: The five managerial meetings between Moyes and Pochettino have all produced fewer than 2.5 total goals (average: 0.8 per game).