Chelsea and West Ham United will be eager to continue their winning runs when they clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The 2025/26 Premier League season resumes on Saturday with Gameweek 24. The action on the day will start with three simultaneous matches before continuing with Chelsea vs West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea could not have asked for a better start to life under Liam Rosenior. The English tactician has overseen a run of five wins in his first six games, with the only blemish coming in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal, where the Blues lost 3-2. The latest victory came in the UEFA Champions League, as they came from a goal down to beat Napoli 3-2, with the result lifting them to sixth in the standings.
On the other hand, West Ham United’s recent results have lifted some of the pressure off Nuno Espirito Santo’s shoulders. Widespread reports suggested the Portuguese tactician was staring down the barrel at the East London club, with Slaven Bilic waiting in the wings to take over as the new head coach. However, successive victories have helped the East London club bridge the gap to 17th-placed Nottingham Forest to five points.
The reverse fixture saw Chelsea come from a goal down to beat West Ham 5-1 at the London Stadium, with the West London club having five different scorers. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Chelsea
Liam Rosenior has no new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Chelsea head coach will be bereft of the services of five first-team players vs West Ham United on Saturday.
Levi Colwill (knee) is the most notable absentee, with Tosin Adarabioyo (hamstring) and Dario Essugo (thigh) accompanying him in the treatment room. While Romeo Lavia has resumed training, Saturday’s game will come too soon for him. Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk remains in the treatment room due to a suspension after failing a doping test several months ago.
Robert Sanchez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs West Ham United on Saturday. The backline will feature Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, and Marc Cucurella.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the double pivot. Cole Palmer will reprise the no. 10 role, with Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho being the two wide attackers. Finally, Joao Pedro will spearhead the Chelsea attack against West Ham on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro
West Ham United
Like his counterpart in the Chelsea dugout, Nuno Espirito Santo has no new issues to worry about ahead of the short trip to Stamford Bridge. The West Ham United manager will be without only one first-team player on Saturday.
Lukasz Fabianski is the only absentee due to a lower back injury that will keep him in the treatment room for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Lucas Paqueta is no longer at the club, as he has rejoined Flamengo this week.
Alphonse Areola is an automatic pick between the sticks, with West Ham United lining up in a 4-4-1-1 formation in front of him vs Chelsea on Saturday. The backline will feature Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo, Konstantino Mavropanos, and El Hadji Malick Diouf.
As for the midfield unit, Mateus Fernandes and Tomas Soucek will pair up in the central areas, while Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville will start on the flanks. Finally, Valentin Castellanos will lead the line for West Ham against Chelsea, with Pablo completing the numbers in the offensive third.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Mavropanos, Diouf; Bowen, Fernandes, Soucek, Summerville; Pablo; Castellanos
Key Stats
- Chelsea have won their last four Premier League matches vs West Ham United by an aggregate score of 15-2. It is their longest winning run against the East London club since a run of six between 2006 and 2008. The Hammers have won just one of their 19 most recent Premier League away games against Chelsea (D4 L14), losing five times since a 1-0 victory in November 2019.
- West Ham beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in their last Premier League London derby, having lost their first six this season. The Hammers most recently won consecutive derby matches in the 2021/22 campaign, with those victories coming against Tottenham and Chelsea. The Hammers have won their two most recent Premier League games, last winning three successive matches in December 2023 under David Moyes. It is as many wins as they had managed in their previous 18 league matches (D5 L11).
- Chelsea have won 2-0 against Brentford and 3-1 against Crystal Palace in their two most recent Premier League games. They last won three successive games all by a margin of two or more goals in October/November 2020.
- Only Burnley have faced more shots (393) and shots on target (140) than West Ham United in the Premier League this season (346 shots faced, 124 on target). However, the Hammers faced just two shots on target against Sunderland last weekend, their lowest in a match this term.
- Chelsea have won both Premier League matches under Liam Rosenior thus far. Only three English managers have ever won their first three Premier League games – Bobby Gould in August 1992, Sam Allardyce in August 2001 and Craig Shakespeare (first 5) in April 2017.
Player to Watch
Crysencio Summerville
While Jarrod Bowen, Enzo Fernandez, and FPL captaincy candidate Cole Palmer were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Crysencio Summerville as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.
The Dutch winger has scored in his last two Premier League appearances, more than he had in his first 35 for West Ham United (1). He has previously scored in three successive matches in the competition (a run of four in October/November 2022 while at Leeds United). Nuno Espirito Santo will hope Summerville is at his best this weekend to stand a chance of beating Chelsea.
Prediction
Chelsea 2-1 West Ham United
Unlike the reverse fixture, Saturday’s game will not be a procession for West Ham United, as they are in a much better vein of form. So, a closely-contested affair is on the cards, and there may not be much to separate the two teams for most of the proceedings this weekend.
Crysencio Summerville and Jarrod Bowen will make things difficult for the home side, but Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer will deliver the goods for Chelsea. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for Liam Rosenior and his charges.