West Ham vs Chelsea - as it happened: Blues' winning streak brought to an end
The Hammers ended their miserable run of four straight league defeats with a 3-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park, largely thanks to two goals from Andriy Yarmolenko.
However, Manuel Pellegrini faces his toughest test yet with Chelsea looking to maintain their position at the top of the Premier League table.
The Blues, along with Liverpool, are the only side with a 100% record in the league in a run which has seen them beat Arsenal.
Maurizio Sarri’s side kept the momentum going in midweek with a 1-0 win over PAOK in the Europa League and will be confident of three more points here.
West Ham have done it! They've held Chelsea to a point. Chelsea on their part were quite poor today, they made chances but were unable to convert the chances into goals. West Ham defended very well and Yarmolenko could've won it for them if his header had found the target.
Snodgrass grabs Willian and brings him down on the right hand side of the box, he gets booked for it. Willian takes the free kick and Yarmolenko gets it clear.
Ross Barkley almost sank the hearts of the West Ham fans, he takes a curling effort form outside the box and Fabianski dives to his left making the save
Arrizabalaga boots a Chelsea free kick long and West Ham send it back, Barkley finds Hazard on the right wing and he tries to curl the ball into Morata but Fabianski smothers it
Willian breaks away and runs down the left, he squares the ball into the box and Kante is open, he strikes it first time with his left but the ball goes high over the bar.
Oh my days! Snodgrass works with Obiang to create some space on the left hand side to deliver a cross. He whips it in to the back post and Yarmolenko is wide open, he has a free header and puts it wide! That should have been the opener and West Ham should be one up!
Chelsea win a free kick about 25 yards out, David Luiz runs up and shoots! The ball makes it's way past the wall but Fabianksi sees it early and has it covered
Azpilicueta tries to find Hazard on the far post and wins a corner. Willian takes it but doesn't beat the first man, the ball comes out to Jorginho and Chelsea build again.
Oh my! Kante plays the ball into the box and David Luiz gets a foot to it, the ball moves into Morata's path and he toe pokes it towards goal smashing Fabianski in the face as the goalkeeper moves quickly off his line to make the save.
West Ham are defending very well, Chelsea can't find a way through. West Ham have the ball now and Rice sends it wide but Alonso clears it. The ball comes to all the way back to Fabianski who boots it forward and Chelsea win a free kick as Alonso is brought down
David Luiz makes a mistake at the back trying to win the ball against Antonio, the West Ham striker wins it and outs it past Rudiger who is the last defender. The Chelsea man doesn't give up though, he turns quickly and overpowers Antonio giving the ball to Arrizabalaga for safety
Masuaku makes a run down the right, he gets the ball from the centre of the pitch and he squares it into the box trying to pick out Yarmolenko, but Rudiger does well to stop the shot
Felipe Anderson gets booked and gives away a dangerous free kick on the right hand side of the box. Willian delivers aiming for Rudiger, who tries an overhead kick but falls to the floor in a tumble
Kante gets a yellow card for bringing down Felipe Anderson and West Ham attack again with Yarmolenko, he cuts inside from the left and fires a shot! Just over the bar
Yarmolenko gets the ball off Willian and he controls it down the right hand side, Alonso and Kovacic do well in defence and make him put the ball out of play
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Event channels. Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the match via the SkyGo app.
Highlights will be shown at 10:30pm on BBC One.
It’s a big game for…
Lukasz Fabianski – The Pole withstood a barrage of first-half attempts before Gylfi Sigurdsson opened the scoring last weekend. Manuel Pellegrini’s side ran out eventual 3-1 winners at Goodison Park but his side are likely to face more of what they faced in the first 45 minutes with the visit of Manchester United following Sunday’s fixture. The Hammers will need the former Arsenal keeper to be at his best if they are to build upon their success on Merseyside.
Best stat…
Three: Maurizio Sarri could become just the third head coach or manager to win his first six league matches in charge. Victory over West Ham would see the Italian join fellow countryman Carlo Ancelotti, who replaced the 59-year-old at Napoli in the summer, and Pep Guardiola in achieving the feat.
Remember when…
It was a game that sadly had a fairly ugly ending as objects were launched between rival supporters, but Edimilson Fernandes’ superb strike should have been the main talking point from West Ham’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the fourth round of the 2017 League Cup. The 22-year-old midfielder added to Cheikhou Kouyate’s header with a stunning left-foot strike from 18 yards, before Gary Cahill swept home an injury-time consolation.
Player to watch…
Olivier Giroud – Eden Hazard may have received all the plaudits in Chelsea’s emphatic 4-1 win over Cardiff City, and rightly so, but you cannot help but feel that the Frenchman has more than adequately contributed to the Belgian’s form this season. The former Arsenal striker has not been as severely challenged as expected by Alvaro Morata but his link-up play with Hazard is something the Spaniard hasn’t offered in his career at Stamford Bridge. If he can add a few goals of his own, Chelsea will feel confident of maintaining their current position.
Will Olivier Giroud get the nod ahead of AlvaroMorata (AFP/Getty Images)
Past three-meetings…
Chelsea 1 (Azpilicueta) West Ham 1 (Hernandez), Premier League, April 2018
West Ham 1 (Arnautovic) Chelsea 0, Premier League, December 2017
West Ham 1 (Lanzini) Chelsea 2 (Hazard, Costa), Premier League, March 2017
Form guide…
West Ham: LLLWLW
Cheslsea: WWWWWW
Odds…
West Ham to win: 21/4
Chelsea to win: 13/25
Draw: 10/3
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