Preview - Chelsea

In brief

The Hammers are looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace with a win over league leaders Chelsea.

Despite impressive displays against the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, the Hammers have had little reward of late, with their last win coming against Hull City on Sunday 18 January.

Table topping Chelsea will provide them with their toughest test of the season so far, with Jose Mourinho's men sweeping aside virtually everyone they have faced this season.

They currently sit five points clear with a game in hand over second place Manchester City, and will be buoyed by the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley on Sunday

Who are they?

Chelsea were formed in 1905 and have been in the top flight for the majority of their history.

Their first major success came with the league title in 1955. Cup victories followed in the 1960s and 1970s, but it is in the last two decades that their greatest period of success has come, with 15 major trophies to their name since 1997.

They are the only London club to have won the UEFA Champions League and one of only four in Europe to win all three major UEFA club competitions.

Team news

West Ham United
Sam Allardyce has no new injury concerns ahead of Wednesday’s encounter with the Blues, with the West Ham manager hinting that he would use the same squad that faced Crystal Palace on the weekend.

Strikers Carlton Cole and Andy Carroll are both injured while Morgan Amalfitano serves the last game of his suspension.  
Chelsea
Chelsea are also relatively injury free as John Obi Mikel (knee) is the only absentee. Nemanja Matic is also ruled out due to his red card against Burnley.

Referee

Wednesday’s referee is Andre Marriner.

The experienced referee made his Premier League debut back in November 2004.

This season, Marriner has officiated the one West Ham game – the 2-0 defeat away at Liverpool. The Birmingham-based official is yet to take charge of a Chelsea game in the league.  

One to watch

West Ham United
Spanish shot stopper Adrian has been in superb form for the Hammers this season and he will need to be at his best to deny the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.

Something about facing a Jose Mourinho side seems to get the best out of the 28-year-old as Hammers’ fans will remember his heroics away at Chelsea last season.

In total, the Spaniard has made 105 saves this season.
Chelsea
Chelsea forward Diego Costa has hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge following his summer move from Atletico Madrid.

The Spain frontman won the La Liga title with Atleti last season and his goals are propelling another title charge with his new club.

Having won his first piece of silverware with the Blues last Sunday in the shape of the Capital One Cup, he will be looking to add to his tally of 18 goals so far.

Tickets

All tickets have sold out for this fixture.

Travel

For the very latest news on the London Underground, please visit the TfL website here.

Weather

Clear skies are expected above the lights at the Boleyn Ground, with temperature at kick-off of 7C (45F).

Last meeting

West Ham United 0-3 Chelsea
Barclays Premier League
23 November 2013

Chelsea secured a comfortable victory at the Boleyn Ground as the west London outfit won 3-0.

Former West Ham player Frank Lampard opened the scoring from the spot through a penalty before Oscar doubled the advantage 13 minutes later.

The Blues wrapped up the victory with eight minutes to go when Lampard scored his second of the game.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Lampard, Oscar (Schurrle 83), Mikel, Hazard (Essien 84), Eto'o (Ba 79)
Subs: Schwarzer, Cole, Mata, Willian

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Tomkins, O'Brien, Collins, Demel, Nolan (Jarvis 76), Collison (Maiga 40), Morrison, Noble, Downing, Cole (J. Cole 40)
Subs: Adrian, McCartney, Taylor, Cole