London Derby Showdown: West Ham vs Chelsea Preview

The opening fixture of Game week 2 sees West Ham take on Chelsea in an early-season London derby. Both teams will be looking to recover from an underwhelming start to the campaign, as West Ham suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of newly promoted Sunderland, while Chelsea only managed to get a point at home in a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace.

West Ham look to turn their fortunes around as they prepare for Friday night’s game. The 3-0 defeat against Sunderland was a continuation of their poor form towards the back end of the 2024/25 season, having won only 1 of their last 9 league games across both campaigns.

While Graham Potter’s job does not seem to be under any immediate threat, the performance and result in their opening match did little to appease supporters’ disgruntlement. He will be hoping for signs of improvement against his former side, Chelsea.

The Irons have no major injury concerns for the fixture, but Edson Álvarez will not be available as he nears a move to Turkish side Fenerbahçe. They will look towards star men Lucas Paquetá and Jarrod Bowen to provide the attacking threat going forward, and hope that either Niclas Füllkrug or Callum Wilson can start firing, as the Irons lacked any attacking edge in their opening game.

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea started the season coming off the back of a Club World Cup victory, which raised fans’ expectations heading into the new campaign. That, combined with exciting additions such as Liam Delap, João Pedro, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Estêvão Willian, led many to label the Blues as potential dark horses in the Premier League this season.

However, a lacklustre performance against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 1 which saw them register just two shots on target is a cause for concern for Maresca and his team.

The Blues will again be without Levi Colwill, who is expected to be out for the majority of the season with a ruptured ACL, as well as Benoît Badiashile, who remains sidelined for at least another two weeks. However, they welcome Tosin Adarabioyo back into the squad after recovering from the knock that kept him out of their opening fixture.

Nineteen-year-old academy graduate Joshua Acheampong has also made a case to start on Friday night, after putting in an excellent performance against Palace. Many eyebrows were raised after Cole Palmer’s poor display, in which the midfield maestro was largely ineffective. Chelsea fans will be hoping he can return to form and produce a much-needed big performance in the upcoming game.

João Pedro’s underwhelming outing also leaves Maresca with a selection dilemma, with Liam Delap waiting on the fringes despite his impressive performances in pre-season and the Club World Cup.

Predicted XIs

West Ham – Hermansen; Todibo, Kilman, Aguerd; Wan-Bissaka, Ward-Prowse, Souček, Diouf; Paquetá, Bowen, Wilson

Chelsea – Sánchez; James, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernández, Palmer; Neto, Gittens, Delap