West Ham United visits Chelsea FC in a London Derby that could also be billed the “Let’s Stay on the First Page of the Standings Cup.” Hammers boss David Moyes certainly has a couple advantages, over his counterpart Mauricio Pochettino, in this one.
For one, his injury list is very short, when compared to Chelsea’s sizable contingent of walking wounded.
London Derby FYIs
West Ham United at Chelsea FC
Kickoff: Sun. May 5, 2pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea West Ham
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea FC 59% West Ham United 21% Draw 20%
PL Form, Position: West Ham United DLLWD, 48 pts, 8th Chelsea FC DLWDW, 49 pts, 9th
Secondly, his Irons will be in the fire after having had a full week in between matches to prepare for this one. Meanwhile Chelsea still have a London derby, versus Tottenham Hotspur, to contend with a few hours from when we’re writing this. So without further ado, here is our lineup prediction.
West Ham United Starting XI Prediction at Chelsea FC
Alphonse Areola; Aaron Cresswell, Angelo Ogbonna, Kurt Zouma, Vladimir Coufal; Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez; Lucas Paqueta, James Ward-Prowse, Mohammed Kudus; Jarrod Bowen
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.