Chelsea are bidding to build on their narrow win over Bournemouth when they face London rivals West Ham this weekend.
The Blues head to London Stadium off the back of Christopher Nkunku's late strike against the Cherries — a result that moved Enzo Maresca's team onto seven points from their first four games. The game set a Premier League record for the number of yellow cards issued by referee Anthony Taylor.
West Ham were indebted to a late goal in their previous outing, too, Danny Ings rescuing a 1-1 draw at Fulham after the Hammers had endured a particularly bad first-half performance. They haven't quite got going under new head coach Julen Lopetegui, who is still finding his feet — and his best 11 — in East London.
However, they are unbeaten in the past three home meetings with Chelsea and won this fixture last season 3-1, so this could be a prime opportunity for the players to show their new boss what they can do.
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West Ham vs. Chelsea lineups, predicted starting 11, team news
Both Emerson Palmieri and Niclas Fullkrug will undergo fitness tests on injuries before Lopetegui decides on his lineup for this weekend.
Lucas Paqueta should come back in, perhaps as a No. 10 ahead of Tomas Soucek given his poor performance at Fulham last time out. Michail Antonio is likely to start given Fullkrug's injury concern, while Vladimir Coufal will get the nod ahead of Emerson if the latter is not at 100 per cent.
West Ham predicted 11 (4-2-3-1, right to left): Areola (GK) — Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Coufal — Alvarez, Rodriguez — Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus — Antonio
Injured: Emerson (doubt), Fullkrug (doubt)
Suspended: None
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Chelsea are still without captain Reece James, but there was some positive news on the injury front for Maresca this week: Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Malo Gusto all returned to full training.
It should mean the Blues boss has plenty of selection dilemmas as he looks to lead his side to a fifth consecutive away league win. Fernandez captained the side in James' absence in their first three league games of 2024/25 and will come back into midfield. Gusto should start given the lack of obvious alternatives at right-back, but Lavia, who has only played 73 minutes this season, and Dewsbury-Hall will likely be on the bench.
Christopher Nkunku and Jadon Sancho may hope to start after combining for the winning goal at Bournemouth last time out.
Chelsea predicted 11 (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sanchez (GK) — Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella — Caicedo, Fernandez — Madueke, Palmer, Sancho — Nkunku
Injured: James
Suspended: None
West Ham vs. Chelsea live stream, TV channel
Here's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | Universo, USA Network | Fubo, Universo NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, NBC Sports app/site |
| Canada | — | Fubo |
| UK | TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate | discovery+ |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | Star Sports Select 1 | JioTV, Hotstar VIP |
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