CHELSEA v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
STAMFORD BRIDGE
WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY 2014
KICK-OFF: 7.45PM
REFEREE: NEIL SWARBRICK
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
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Final score - Chelsea 0-0 West Ham United
97: Massive drama right at the end. First, Adrian thought he was fouled after that save. He puts the ball down for a free-kick and Eto'o runs up and puts it in the net. Mr Swarbrick rules it out and West Ham resume with a free-kick. Even then, Chelsea swarm forward again and Lampard's low shot forces another big save from Adrian. Finally, the referee blows for full-time! The West Ham fans celebrate a famous clean sheet and a much-needed point. The Hammers fans behind the goal are singing Adrian's name, and well they might. He goes over to them and gives it a bit of Rafa Nadal-style 'Vamos!' before pumping his fists. Good lad. Join us again at home to Swansea on Saturday. In the meantime, we'll have reaction and highlights on whufc.com and West Ham TV soon. Thanks for joining us.
96: Into the sixth minute of injury time and Hazard beats Jarvis and cuts inside and prods the ball goalward. Adrian saves low down, grabbing the ball at the second attempt.
95: Collins concedes a corner. The ball loops into the air off the first header and Ivanovic rises and heads wide.
94: After some more fun and games at the near post, which ended with Ba hitting the base of the near post from Hazard's cross. Chelsea win the ball from Nocerino and attack again. Hazard works the space and shoots...wide.
93: Another Chelsea attack. Willian to Hazard, who backheels to right winger Ramires. He crosses high and hard and out for a throw on the far side.
92: West Ham have ten men. Chelsea have Lampard. He shoots again, low and hard. Taylor blocks.
91: Into FOUR added minutes and O'Brien is up but his arm is in a makeshift sling. Shockingly enough, Mourinho didn't like the number of minutes added on.
90: Still Chelsea come. This time, O'Brien slides in at the near post to put the ball behind. The corner is taken short and cleared, but the game has to be stopped as O'Brien tussles with Cahill, then falls to the turf. It's his right shoulder. I really doubt he'll be able to continue.
89: Cole harshly penalised for a foul on halfway. I'm not sure about that one.
88: Ramires crosses and the ball drops out to Ivanovic, who is now playing left of a back three, I think. Anyway, he controls and slams a shot that fades away from the top corner for a goal kick.
87: Hazard, then Lampard trying to find an opening on the edge of the box. West Ham STILL working hard to close down the spaces and the ball loops harmlessly through to Adrian.
84: Downing wins a throw. Ramires doesn't like it and slams the ball into the turf. Yellow card for the Chelsea man.
83: Taylor misplaces a pass and Hazard seeks out Ba. Collins comes across and clears for a corner. The ball is worked back to Willian, the taker, before Chelsea work it to Cahill, whose curler is easily held by Adrian diving to his left.
82: The fans have a song for 'No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No No-ce-rino' already!
80: West Ham want to bring on Nocerino. Noble's number is put up, but it won't be him replaced. Instead, Nolan comes off. Noble takes the armband.
79: Eto'o wants a pen as he tangles with Demel while challenging for a cross. Both players go to ground. Mr Swarbrick gives a foul in West Ham's favour. Demba Ba replaces Oscar.
78: Another shot flies over the top. I believe it was Cahill on his left foot, but I am afraid I am not 100 per cent sure.
76: More Chelsea pressure. Matic eventually tees himself up and shoots. Nolan deflects it behind. West Ham deal with the corner through Cole's clearance and then Ivanovic is caught offside. We're going to see Nocerino shortly for his West Ham debut.
74: Nolan fouls Terry, then delays the taking of the free-kick and is booked...
73: Lampard again, this time from 30 yards. The ball flies miles over. That's 25 shots for Chelsea.
72: Chelsea piling it on again and this time Lampard chops onto his left foot and wrong-foots a defender, but not Downing, who slides and miraculously makes the block. West Ham still working so hard to keep their goal intact, but will all this hard work take its toll in the end?
70: Taylor is tripped this time, inside his own half. Mourinho is off again, waving his arms around.
69: A chance for some respite and maybe to create something as Ramires fouls Downing wide left. Downing himself takes high to the far post, where Tomkins rises too early and is penalised for a push.
67: Taylor loses the ball in midfield and Hazard is away. He cuts inside and shoots powerfully, but the ball flies past Collins and dips two yards wide of the far post.
64: Lampard's chance comes immediately as Willian's cut-back finds him n space 22 yards out. He drives low and Taylor makes the sliding block. Chelsea attack again, but O'Brien wins it back and is fouled.
63: Lampard and Matic replace Azpilicueta and Mikel. Carroll is replaced by Carlton Cole. Attacking changes from Mourinho, who is again remonstrating about something or other.
62: A corner for West Ham as Carroll twists and sends Jarvis away. He crosses first-time and Ivanovic heads behind with Downing lurking behind. The corner is won by Collins, but falls to a Chelsea shirt.
61: What a chance for Carroll! Downing's cross from the left is tipped by Cech to Carroll, but the No9 misses his kick with the left-foot attempt. Taylor loses out eventually and Chelsea break. Taylor himself takes the law into his own hands and takes out the Chelsea player. Yellow card for the West Ham No14. Chelsea fans not happy again.
58: O'Brien goes through the back of Willian and Mourinho is apoplectic. He is almost on the pitch remonstrating with the officials. Meanwhile, the Chelsea players surround Mr Swarbrick, who initially allowed play to continue. At the break, he books O'Brien. The Chelsea fans are going a bit doolally to my left.
57: Another shot off-target. West Ham opened up by Mikel's ball left for Azpilicueta. His cross lands at the feet of Ramires, who half-volleys back across the face of goal and out for a goal kick.
56: West Ham escape another low cross along the six-yard box and eventually win a free-kick when Ramires fouls Noble as he clears.
54: Another hush as Chelsea work the ball from side to side trying to open up a shooting chance. They do, eventually, but Oscar's low effort from 25 yards is well held low down by Adrian. That was Chelsea's 20th shot, but just their fifth on target.
52: Downing crosses from the left and Carroll leaps with Terry. The Chelsea captain's arm does catch Carroll in the mush, but I'm not sure it's deliberate. Nolan thinks so. Anyway, nothing is given and Chelsea counter. Oscar crosses low, but there is nobody there to tap in.
50: Chelsea probing again down their right. Azpilicueta, Eto'o, Hazard, Willian and Mikel all involved before Willian threads a ball through for Hazard, whose cross-shot flies high and over the crossbar. Goal kick. 'Pull the trigger, someone' shouts a Chelsea fan to my left.
49: Carroll is changing from the white boots to the black with red flashes.
48: Oscar finds Ramires inside the penalty area, who controls and sees his volley thud into Tomkins and behind for Chelsea's ninth corner. The delivery finds the head of Cahill, but the No24's effort flies over.
47: Collins blocks a long-range shot and the ball ricochets out to Carroll. He collects, turns and runs past Ramires, who brings him down. The free-kick is cleared and Chelsea break.
46: Carroll jumps from the long ball forward straight from the kick-off and the ball drops to Jarvis. He controls, gets a yard of space and crosses right-footed. Cech catches.
Here come the two teams. Mourinho is having a chat with Ivanovic just before West Ham re-start proceedings. Tonight's attendance is 41,376.
Half-time score - Chelsea 0-0 West Ham United
No goals so far, but both teams have come close. Chelsea have controlled possession but most of their efforts have been off-target. When Adrian was called upon late in the half, he made splendid saves from Terry and then Eto'o. For West Ham, their sole effort came from Tomkins' downward header, which Cech was just about equal to. On a negative note, West Ham lost Diame to injury after he went backwards over the advertising board. Anyway, we'll be back in just over ten minutes for the second half.
48: What a save by Adrian! Oscar's shot is low and hits Eto'o. The Cameroon man controls instantly and shoots to the near post, where Adrian flings himself to his left and pushes behind for a corner. It's taken short, but nothing comes of it. Half-time!
47: Ivanovic wins another corner when his cross hits O'Brien. It is headed clear. Downing gets there first, but Nolan can only hack upfield and Chelsea soon have the ball again.
46: Another corner for Chelsea as Demel knocks the ball out facing his own goal. Collins' shirt is ripped down the middle. Battle scars. Carroll heads the corner away but Mr Swarbrick has spotted an infringement. West Ham free-kick. Three added minutes to be played.
44: Collins lifts a free-kick into the Chelsea box, Carroll flicks on and Cech collects. The goalkeeper fires an 80-yard ball forward and Hazard collects. Jarvis holds him up, but Chelsea pile on the pressure, keep passing and moving and eventually Downing slices behind for a corner. The ball comes over from the set piece, Terry heads down powerfully and Adrian saves with his feet. West Ham survive, just!
42: Chelsea's movement in the attacking third is mesmeric. They never stop moving, looking for angles and passes to open up the opposition. West Ham are working so hard to close down the spaces. Oscar finds Hazard, whose shot is held by Adrian in front of his face.
40: Mr Swarbrick wants a word with Carroll. The Big Man knocks Cahill over before winning a header, then catches the defender in the head accidentally with his knee. Nothing sinister, but the referee wants to calm the No9 down.
37: Carroll comes back to help out but only fouls Hazard. The free-kick is outside the box, but comes to nothing. West Ham clear.
36: West Ham win a corner as Cahill slices behind, but Downing's delivery is not great and Chelsea clear and counter. O'Brien covers across alertly as Chelsea enter the West Ham half and hacks out for a throw.
34: Willian tries to clip a right-footed pass over the top, but it skips off the wet turf and Adrian allows the ball to bounce wide for a goal kick. Both managers have been in their technical areas since kick-off. I reckon Jose's brown brogues are taking a bit of a pasting in this weather.
32: Oscar brings the ball forward himself and elects to shoot when Noble closes him down 25 yards out. The ball dips but well wide of the post.
30: Jarvis is on. Diame goes straight down the tunnel with a member of the medical staff.
29: West Ham kick the ball out as Diame needs further treatment. He wants to come off... He is hobbling to the touchline and some of the Chelsea fans are booing. Charming. Jarvis will be on to replace him.
28: Diame is back on, and Noble is back up. West Ham win a throw through Downing off Azpilicueta. Borriello, Nocerino and Cole are out to warm up.
27: Talking of painful...O'Brien clears the ball into Noble's lower chest/stomach area from a yard. Diame is ready to come back on, but Noble is down on his haunches. He's, ahem, winded...
26: Ouch. Diame tries to keep the ball in as Ivanovic shepherds it out. He swings his left leg at the ball, misses and goes backwards, up and over the advertising board and ends up in the crowd. That looked painful.
25: Chelsea have another pot-shot at Adrian's goal but miss the target. Willian dances into the box from the left and tees-up Ramires, who fires a yard high and wide of the angle.
24: A hush descends as Chelsea build patiently, working the ball wide right through Willian. Ivanovic plays inside to Mikel, whose first-time shot dribbles wide of the right-hand post.
22: In other news, it's still raining... Diame fouls Ramires 35 yards out. Willian to take... O'Brien heads behind for a corner. Morrison, McCartney and Jarvis out to warm-up. The corner is cleared by Carroll.
21: Noble turns and knocks the ball down the line. Azpilicueta heads down and Mikel's pass is handled by Carroll. Nolan shoots low and wide anyway, but Mr Swarbrick had already blown for a free-kick to the Blues.
19: Eto'o's movement draws both Collins and Tomkins out to the right touchline. He gets by Collins, but Tomkins slides in emphatically to concede the throw. Moments later, a cross hits Collins and goes behind. The corner falls to Cahill, who feeds Ramires deep. The Brazilian crosses high and behind for a goal kick.
17: Hazard and Taylor go in for an old-fashioned 50/50 on the halfway line. Taylor wins it. Hazard is down for about 20 seconds but can resume without treatment.
16: The West Ham fans are singing a few odes to Jose Mourinho. Not sure he'll be liking the words too much, though.
15: A raking ball over the top from Ivanovic is headed down by Hazard to Eto'o following up in space. He slices his shot high and wide from 25, under pressure from Collins' slide. Goal kick. Chelsea just threatening a little more in the last minute or two.
14: Chelsea's attacking midfield three are so quick, so skilful, so elusive. On the left, Hazard into Oscar, into Willian, who runs sideways before driving a shot a few yards over from about 22 yards out.
12: Taylor takes, Tomkins heads down powerfully and Cech flings himself to his right to push the ball away! So close to the opener! The ball hits Nolan following up and goes behind for a goal kick. Wow. Action at both ends.
11: Diame is now playing on the left. He wins the ball from Cahill on the touchline before being hauled down by the England centre-back. Free-kick level with the edge of the penalty area.
10: The corner is flicked away for a Chelsea throw. Hazard takes. Foul throw! That's not something you see every day at this level!
9: Diame runs at Azpilicueta and cuts inside the Spaniard before going to ground. He thinks Mikel blocked him. Again, nothing is given. Chelsea attack at pace and eventually the ball is worked to Oscar on the left corner of the box. He shapes and curls an effort to the far top corner which Adrian does siuperbly to tip onto to the crossbar and behind. Corner. Great stop.
6: Downing crosses from the left, Carroll chests down and Terry does touch the forward's knee and he goes down. No penalty. Replays suggest there was a touch from Terry's knee on the leg of Carroll, but the fall was a bit exaggerated from the Big Man. Nothing given by Mr Swarbrick, despite some protests from players and fans alike.
5: Taylor has the ball on halfway after good hold-up play by Carroll. He comes forward and assesses his options before crossing from the left towards Carroll. It's not close to the No9 though and Cahill chests back to Cech.
4: Hazard has started left but Ramires ignores him as he skips past Collins but not past Demel, who nicks the ball from the Brazilian and clears up towards Carroll.
2: Chelsea attack down the left and Taylor has two men to deal with. The ball is worked wide and Taylor blocks the low Hazard cross behind for a corner, which Carroll volleys clear not once, but twice!
1: West Ham win an early corner. Noble crosses and Chelsea clear their lines. Downing tries to volley wide back to Noble but it's cut out...
7.45pm - Oscar and Willian kick-off.
7.41pm - Here they come...! The Claret and Blue Army are in full voice away to our left in the corner. The rain continues to fall steadily as captains Nolan and Terry shake hands. Chelsea will kick-off, it appears.
7.40pm - The two teams are in the tunnel. Among those watching tonight, Tony Cottee, Tony Gale and John Moncur - West Ham legends all three.
7.37pm - One more encouraging stat. Fernando Torres has scored six goals in seven appearances against West Ham - but he's not playing! The two squads have headed indoors for their final preparations...
7.32pm - An amazing stat for you to chew over before kick-off. West Ham have delivered 418 crosses this season - second only to Manchester United with 423 - and completed a Barclays Premier League high 22.5 per cent of them. Even more amazing considering that figure, West Ham have not scored a single headed goal this season. With big Andy Carroll back in the side, that stat should change soon!
7.30pm - The two squads are out warming-up in the rain here at Stamford Bridge. If you click on the FACEBOOK link above, you can view our exclusive gallery from Stamford Bridge...
6.50pm - The team news is in. Andy Carroll starts, while the two new boys are among the substitures... West Ham make five changes from the team that started the 3-1 home defeat by Newcastle eleven days ago. In come Demel, O'Brien, Nolan and Carroll and Tomkins for Rat, Johnson, Collison, Carlton Cole and Jarvis. I'd expect it to be 4-3-3 as usual for West Ham, with Downing and Diame wide of Carroll.
Chelsea make just one change from their previous league match - a 3-1 home win over Manchester United on 19 January - by bringing in Mikel for Luiz in defensive midfield. Chelsea will likely utilise their usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with Oscar, Willian and Hazard moving freely in support of Eto'o. The Blues begin life tonight without Spain star Juan Mata, of course, who has joined Manchester United.
West Ham United: Adrian, Demel, O'Brien, Tomkins, Collins, Noble, Taylor, Nolan (c), Downing, Diame, Carroll
Subs: Jaaskelainen, McCartney, Jarvis, Nocerino, Morrison, C.Cole, Borriello
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Terry (c), Cahill, Mikel, Ramires, Oscar, William, Hazard, Eto'o
Subs: Schwarzer, A.Cole, Luiz, Lampard, Schurrle, Ba, Matic
Good evening and welcome to a dark, wet and thoroughly miserable Stamford Bridge, at least in weather terms!
West Ham United arrive in west London hoping to end Jose Mourinho's almost unbelievable record as Chelsea manager - zero defeats in 71 home Barclays Premier LEague matches!
Should the Hammers achieve the near-impossible and win at Stamford Bridge for the first time since September 2002, Sam Allardyce's side would climb out of the relegation zone and could finish the evening above Fulham in 17th. Even a point would be enough to lift West Ham above the Cottagers.
West Ham's chances will be boosted by the arrival of Italy internationals Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borriello on loan from AC Milan and AS Roma respectively. Big Sam could choose to give one or either a full debut tonight, as both have been named in a 20-man squad.
That aforementioned win here in September 2002 was also sparked by an Italian in Claret and Blue - Paolo Di Canio scored two outstanding goals in a 3-2 victory.
Alongside the two Italians, James Tomkins is back after being suspended for the home defeat by Newcastle United, while full-backs Guy Demel (concussion) and George McCartney (neck) are both fit. Mohamed Diame has recovered from the knee problem he suffered at the end of the home Capital One Cup semi-final second leg defeat by Manchester City eight days ago, while Kevin Nolan could feature in the league for the first time since being sent-off at Fulham on New Year's Day. Joe Cole is out with a groin problem.
The manager must decide whether to hand Andy Carroll his first league start of the season, or go with former Chelsea man Carlton Cole or new boy Borriello up front.
For Chelsea, Fernando Torres and midfielder Marco van Ginkel are both nursing knee injuries, meaning either Samuel Eto'o or ex-Hammer Demba Ba could start in attack. If the Blues win, they could go top of the table if Manchester City fail to win at Tottenham Hotspur tonight.
We will have the confirmed team news for you at just after 6.45pm. Between now and then, why not utilise our social media platforms for exclusive photos, video and competitions, including out Twitter favourites #WHULINEUP and #WHUGOAL.