Venue: Stamford Bridge

Date: Saturday, 13 March 2010

Kick-off: 1500 GMT

We might have booked ourselves an FA Cup semi-final place in our last game but in the league, things haven’t gone quite so well lately with two defeats in our last three. We now find ourselves two points behind United (albeit with a game in hand) and another defeat today would seriously dent our challenge for the title this season.

Our visitors are only just outside the relegation zone and haven’t won away from home since the opening day of the season, so with that in mind and Arsenal up next, sentiment will no doubt go out the window as Gianfranco Zola goes all out to take 3 points off us.

MANAGERS’ VIEWS

Ahead of this game, Carlo Ancelotti understandably focuses on our current injury woes, stating “We have a problem with the goalkeepers. We don’t know if Hilario or Petr are able to play on Tuesday. But Saturday I want to put the best line-up out because it’s an important game. We need to win and go back to the top of the table, so I want to put the best players out. But we have problems. Essien, Cole, and Bosingwa are out. Also Carvalho and Hilario are not able to play. So, in goal, Turnbull will play. I’m not worried. The performance of the team does not rely upon the goalkeeper. I don’t want to say we can play without a goalkeeper, because that’s an important player for the team, but I have confidence in Turnbull. He has not played a lot of games this season but, with the work with our goalkeeping coach, he has improved very well.”

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola, appears optimistic in spite of a couple of difficult fixtures to cope with, stating “I don’t care if we’re playing Chelsea or Arsenal. They are big, big teams and big games. No-one is expecting anything from us but football is strange. Last year, we got a point in both games so I am not going to go there already beaten because I know football can have surprises.”

SQUAD NEWS

Our injury list seems to grow every week and for this game, Jose Bosingwa (knee), Michael Essien (knee), Ashley Cole (ankle), Ricardo Carvalho (hamstring), Petr Cech (calf) all remain out. Henrique Hilario is our latest casualty with an abductor muscle injury, so Ross Turnball makes his league debut, with Rhys Taylor taking his place on the bench. Yuri Zhirkov should return after a calf strain and both Juliano Belletti and Michael Ballack are available again after serving their bans.

West Ham’s injury list of Mark Noble (arm), Herita Ilunga (tendon), Zavon Hines (knee), Luis Boa Morte (knee) and Calum Davenport (leg) has been added to with Julien Faubert (hamstring). However, Benni McCarthy and Danny Gabbidon return from injuries and Manuel Da Costa returns from suspension.

TEAMS

CHELSEA (from): Turnbull, Taylor, Ivanovic, Kalou, Matic, Alex, Drogba, Malouda, Ferreira, Terry, Borini, Lampard, Obi, Deco, Sturridge, Anelka, Zhirkov, J Cole, Belletti, Ballack, Kakuta

WEST HAM (from): Green, Stech, Kurucz, Daprela, Spector, Gabbidon, Upson, Tomkins, Collison, Kovac, Parker, Behrami, Diamanti, Dyer, Franco, Cole, Mido, McCarthy, Ilan.

LAST MEETING

West Ham 1-1 Chelsea (20 December 2009)

PREDICTION

West Ham have not beaten Chelsea in any of their last 10 meetings in all competitions and have failed to score more than one goal in our last ten Premier League meetings. The Hammers have also failed to win any of their last 8 London derbies in the Premier League and haven’t won at Stamford Bridge since September 2002. Before we get too excited though, it’s worth us bearing in mind City’s poor record when they came to the Bridge last time out – and the fact that if we do concede a goal today, we’ll have shipped more goals already this season than in any full season since 2003-04.

REFEREE

Mark Clattenburg

Filed under: Match Day, Preview