London Derby: West Ham, Chelsea in Top-Four Clash

As the two Manchester teams-City and United have almost confirmed their places in the Premier League coming first and second respectively and with Leicester City set for third, today’s battle between fourth placed Chelsea and surprised fifth-placed West Ham United is nothing short of a fight of the titans

When David Moyes took over relegation-bound West Ham United last season, not many would have believed that a year later he would be competing for a top-four Premier League finish.
West Ham United prepare to play host to Chelsea in today’s Premier League clash, and there is much more than just capital bragging rights on the line in this London derby.
The Blues reclaimed their place in the top four of the table with a goalless stalemate against Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday, while West Ham are now in fifth but only behind their upcoming opponents on goal difference.

David Moyes’ surprise package remain firmly in contention for a top-four finish, but defeat at St James’ Park gave Chelsea the opportunity to leapfrog them in the table – a chance which they took and the Blues’ superior goal difference means that West Ham sit fifth with six games of the season remaining.

Moyes has now seen his side ship at least two goals in their last four Premier League matches – a statistic that will become all the more worrying now that Craig Dawson is suspended for this game – but home is where the heart is for the Hammers, as they have taken 13 points from the last 15 on offer at the London Stadium.

Only Manchester City can boast a better home record than West Ham in this season’s campaign, and Moyes’s side are also unbeaten in their last five London derbies at home before this pivotal showdown with Chelsea, who will be aiming to end a tumultuous week in perfect fashion.
Petr Cech becoming embroiled in fan protests outside Stamford Bridge symbolised football’s response to the proposed European Super League – which Chelsea were one of the founding members of – but during their game with Brighton on Tuesday evening, news of the Premier League’s Big Six dropping out one by one slowly filtered through to jubilant supporters.

Affairs on the pitch were much duller, however, as neither Chelsea nor Brighton – reduced to 10 men in the dying minutes after Ben White was sent off – could find a way through at Stamford Bridge, as Thomas Tuchel’s fatigued outfit were unable to build on their recent FA Cup and Champions League successe.

However, that point was enough to see the Blues break back into the top four of the table, and Leicester City – who have a game in hand – are only one point clear of Chelsea in third before they face West Bromwich Albion on Thursday, although the Foxes will certainly be expected to steer clear in that fixture.

That infamous home thrashing at the hands West Brom was an early blot on Tuchel’s notebook, but the former Borussia Dortmund manager is yet to lose away from home since succeeding Frank Lampard and will be aiming to stretch his unbeaten run on the road to 10 matches across all competitions this weekend.

Tuchel could become the first Chelsea manager in history to navigate his first 10 away games unbeaten today, and the Blues eased to a 3-0 triumph over West Ham back in December, during which the forgotten man Tammy Abraham netted twice.
Brighton & Hove Albion travel to already-relegated Sheffield United this evening knowing that they can all but secure Premier League safety with a victory.

The Seagulls held Chelsea last time out and are seven points clear of the dropzone with a game in hand, while United’s fate was sealed with defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Brighton may be three games without a victory, but back-to-back goalless draws against Everton and Chelsea can be considered good results in Albion’s bid to avoid relegation.

Graham Potter’s men have lacked consistency all campaign long, hence their position in 16th, but Fulham’s inability to pick up wins means that the Seagulls should be safe.
That could all change in the space of one weekend of action, of course, as a defeat for Brighton here and a win for Fulham at Chelsea will close the gap to four points.

Albion, who went close to beating Chelsea late on at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, still have Manchester City and top-four chasing West Ham United to face in their final five games.
Nothing can be taken for granted just yet, then, especially when you take Albion’s record against this weekend’s opponents into account.

Brighton have won just one of their last 11 league meetings with the Blades and have not won at Bramall Lane in the league since January 2005.
United, now under the caretaker management of Paul Heckingbottom, may have been relegated last weekend but that can so often lift the weight off the shoulders of teams.

The Yorkshire side were relegated in the joint-earliest time ever in terms of games played, and they could still go down with a record number of defeats at this rate.
Scoring goals has been a problem all season long for United, who have lost each of their last five league matches and failed to score in four of them.

Indeed, as well as being the lowest-scoring side in the Premier League this season (17 goals in total), United have failed to score in the most different games (18).

They have also kept only two clean sheets all season – another divisional low – which could be good news for Brighton on the back of two games without finding the net.
By ending that drought this weekend and coming away with three points, Potter can surely begin to prepare for another campaign of Premier League football next season.