Chelsea predicted line-up vs. West Ham: two major doubts and 12 ruled out of Premier League clash

Chelsea will be looking to build on a commanding midweek victory over Tottenham Hotspur when they come up against West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. The Blues ran out 2-0 winners at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening, with Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson on hand to score the goals that secured all three points.

That result leaves the Blues eighth in the table, two points clear of their opponents this weekend, and within touching distance of Manchester United in sixth. European qualification remains a realistic goal for Mauricio Pochettino’s side this season.

By contrast, West Ham will be fully aware that anything other than a win on Sunday will leave them with a mountain to climb in their bid for a return to the continent. The Hammers have won just one in five in the top flight, but did draw 2-2 with Liverpool last time out.

With all of that in mind, how will both sides line up at Stamford Bridge this weekend? We’ve taken a closer look at their respective team news and predicted XIs below.

Chelsea Team News

Chelsea continue to battle all kinds of injury setbacks as we enter the final stretch of the Premier League campaign. The likes of Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, and Enzo Fernandez have all played their final minutes of the season already, while there are no concrete return dates outlined for the likes of Malo Gusto, Thiago Silva, and Carney Chukwuemeka.

Ben Chilwell will face a late assessment once again, Axel Disasi is understood to be carrying a knock, and Robert Sanchez is said to be in ‘partial team training’. Meanwhile, Lesley Ugochukwu and Christopher Nkunku are likely to be a week or two away from match fitness, as are Levi Colwill and Reece James. Mid-May continues to be a realistic aim for the quartet.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the Blues, however. Raheem Sterling, who has been sidelined with a lower back complaint in recent weeks, could be fit enough to make his comeback - although once again, that is by no means set in stone.

Chelsea Predicted XI

Djordje Petrovic; Alfie Gilchrist, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher; Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk; Nicolas Jackson.

West Ham Team News

In stark contrast, West Ham have just a smattering of absences to contend with at the time of writing, and even then there is a good chance that David Moyes’ current injury list could vanish entirely by the time the weekend rolls around. Teenage midfielder George Earthy may be available once again following the head injury he sustained during a recent defeat to Fulham, while defensive pairing Konstantinos Mavropanos and Nayef Aguerd could both be in contention too. Of that duo, Mavropanos seems the more likely, but neither can be ruled out entirely at this stage.

West Ham Predicted XI

Alphonse Areola; Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Emerson Palmieri; Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez; Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus; Michail Antonio.