West Ham and Chelsea meet at the London Stadium on Sunday August 20th (4.30 pm) and we have selected a 14/1 #PickYourPunt bet for the Premier League showdown.
Chelsea, impressive in last weekend’s 1-1 home draw with Liverpool, have completed the big-money signings of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia this week and are favourites to record a first league win under Mauricio Pochettino.
However, the Hammers have a solid recent home record against their London rivals, winning this fixture 3-2 in two of the past four seasons and drawing 1-1 last term, and they will be keen to kick on after their opening draw at Bournemouth.
#PickYourPunt @ 14/1
Both Teams To Score
Chelsea had to weather an early storm against Liverpool last week, falling behind in the 18th minute before VAR ruled out a Mohamed Salah effort for offside later in the first half.
The Blues battled back to claim a well-deserved point but, after finishing 12th in the league last season, they will clearly take time to hit top gear under new boss Pochettino.
The arrivals of midfielders Caicedo and Lavia should boost their chances in the long term but, for now, Chelsea remain a work in progress and both teams to score looks a solid first leg of the #PickYourPunt bet.
It was a winner in both of last season’s meetings between the Blues and the Hammers, who scored 17 goals in their last 10 home games of 2022/23 and had 16 shots at goal against Bournemouth last weekend.
Jarrod Bowen To Score Anytime
Six of West Ham’s attempts at Bournemouth, including their only goal, came from livewire forward Jarrod Bowen and he looks a tempting bet to score at any time against Chelsea.
Bowen was the Hammers’ hero in last term’s Europa Conference League final, scoring a late winner to down Fiorentina, and he found the net six times in nine starts during their triumphant European campaign.
The former Hull man had a quieter time in the Premier League but he scored 12 league goals in 2021/22 and his opening-weekend display against the Cherries suggests another productive campaign could be on the cards.
Bowen was on the scoresheet in West Ham’s final home league game of last term, a 3-1 win over Leeds, and he could light up the London Stadium again.
Vladimir Coufal To Be Carded
West Ham right-back Vladimir Coufal was booked five times in 24 Premier League starts last season and he may struggle to stay out of trouble against Chelsea.
Wing-back Ben Chilwell was a real menace down Chelsea’s left flank last weekend against Liverpool, whose right back Trent Alexander-Arnold was cautioned, and plenty of cards could be dished out by referee John Brooks in a feisty London derby.
Czech defender Coufal has been shown a yellow card in two of his last four appearances against Chelsea, including in February’s 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.
