Chelsea welcome London rivals West Ham to Stamford Bridge in a bid to address their alarming form in recent home matches.
The Blues have lost three straight games at Stamford Bridge, conceding 11 goals, and are in danger of being dragged into a top-four race if their performances do not improve.
The Hammers will undoubtedly have one eye on their Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt next week, but will still fancy their attacking chances against a Chelsea defence that is showing little signs of recovery following copious rotation and increasing disconnect.
The Visitors – West Ham United
After a flourishing start to their league campaign that saw some pundits tip them for the top four, West Ham’s domestic form has predictably yet understandably faltered since the turn of the year, and a Europa League finish probably represents a realistic target for the East Londoners.
David Moyes’ side have however not lost away in the league since New Year’s Day, and still represent a difficult unit to break down when deploying their 4-2-3-1 mid-block.
The Hammers will look to frustrate this Chelsea side, who continue to struggle to create chances from static possession and will lack their usual midfield authority in the absence of Mateo Kovacic.
West Ham will be without Issa Diop, Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna on Sunday; Craig Dawson is the only recognised center-back. This may see Cobham product Declan Rice slot into defence.
A strong lineup in attack can still be expected from the Hammers, even with their Europa League campaign next Thursday surely being prioritised.
Chelsea Team News :
Chelsea will be without Antonio Rüdiger and Mateo Kovacicfor Sunday’s clash, after Tuchel confirmed the pair were still unavailable after sustaining injuries at Wembley last weekend.
Chelsea must improve. A 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in midweek provided a sorry verdict as to where the team is in terms of quality at the moment, with injuries and poor individual form taking its toll on Tuchel’s side.
The Blues have now won just seven of their 15 home league matches and whilst a top-four finish should be a relatively academic task, failure to win tomorrow would see Chelsea looking over their shoulder at the two North London sides.
After such a poor display against Arsenal, Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz look likely to return to the starting lineup.
Predicted Lineup (3-4-3): Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Chalobah; James, Jorginho, Kante, Alonso; Mount, Havertz, Werner.
Prediction: 1-0 : Chelsea will struggle to break down a compact West Ham defence, but an early second half goal will settle the nerves and the Blues will see out a narrow victory
