Prediction & odds for the game: West Ham (4/1) v Chelsea (3/5)
When: Wednesday, 1st July @ 8.15pm K.O
Where: London Stadium
West Ham United will attempt to push further away from the relegation battle as they prepare to host top four contenders Chelsea on Wednesday night.
West Ham
While David Moyes may have been through plenty of hard times over the course of the last few years, his reputation as a top manager will struggle to recover if he’s unable to pull West Ham United out of the current dilemma they’re in. There is a very real chance that they will end up slipping back down into the Championship, and if that happens, the financial implications could be catastrophic for a club that was once hoping to build a team fit for European football.
Prior to the lockdown, West Ham were narrowly losing to the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal while beating Souhampton, leading many to believe they could pick up big wins against the teams around them. Alas, since the restart, they’ve struggled to get going in 2-0 defeats to Wolves and Tottenham.
Chelsea
With a place in the FA Cup semi-finals secure and a top four finish looking realistic, it certainly feels like the only way is up for Chelsea under the tutelage of Frank Lampard. Many felt as if it was too soon for him to become a top tier manager at Stamford Bridge, but ever since the season began, he’s been proving his doubters wrong. Now, the question is whether or not they can keep up the same kind of pace that has been shown by the likes of Wolves and Manchester United.
Back to back wins against Liverpool and Everton before the lockdown were encouraging for the Blues, and since the restart, they’ve won three from three. They edged past Aston Villa and Manchester City in two big league wins before beating Leicester in their FA Cup quarter-final this past weekend.
Conclusion
West Ham have to throw caution to the wind at some stage, but if they do that against Chelsea, they’ll be punished. We think the Blues are going to take things slow in the first 15-20 minutes before really getting into their rhythm, whereas the Hammers just aren’t capable of any kind of extended pressure. It’s going to be an entertaining game for the neutral, and the hosts may even get a few blows in here and there, but Chelsea are going to pick up the win they need in their hunt for Champions League football.
We think this game will go against what we’ve seen so far since the restart, which is why we’re backing the over 2.5 goals market. Either way, though, West Ham will be excited to start playing teams around them.
Verdict: Back the away win at odds of 3/5 and the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 8/11. (All odds are taken from bet365).
[geosnippet id=3620]Feel free to bet on West Ham vs Chelsea at the betting page, or check out the other available games at the soccer predictions page.
