West Ham United v Chelsea
Premier League, London Stadium, Saturday 11 February 2023, 12.30pm GMT
West Ham United return home for just the second time in 2023 this weekend when Chelsea are the visitors to London Stadium in the Premier League.
The Irons have played five times on the road in the New Year, but just once previously in E20, then they scored a 2-0 Premier League win over Everton a fortnight ago. Away from, the Hammers have scored FA Cup victories at Brentford (1-0) and Derby County (2-0), a Premier League draw at Leeds United (2-2), a narrow defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers (0-1) and a hard-fought share of the spoils at Newcastle United (1-1) last time out.
A win and two draws in the last four top-flight matches have marked an improvement in form for David Moyes' side, but they are still in urgent need of Premier League points to pull clear of the relegation zone.
Chelsea have also underwhelmed, particularly after a takeover and spending spree in each of the past two transfer windows, but they still go into the weekend ninth in the table and with a chance of closing on the European places.
With three points and the opportunity to move up the table available to both, it promises to be a high-stakes afternoon in east London.
Tickets...
Tickets for this sold out game are available on the Ticket Exchange, with Season Ticket Holders who cannot attend this fixture relisting their seats for other supporters to buy. Click here to check availability or relist.
Travel...
Supporters heading to London Stadium have a number of public transport disruptions to overcome to reach the ground for a lunchtime kick-off.
London Overground services will be suspended between Highbury & Islington and Dalston Junction. Replacement buses will operate between Camden Road and Stratford via Highbury & Islington, Canonbury and Dalston Junction.
There will also be no Overground between Romford and Upminster. Fans should use local London Buses services.
Greater Anglia and Elizabeth line service between Stratford and Shenfield will be suspended. Replacement buses will operate between Stratford-Newbury Park and Romford-Shenfield.
Docklands Light Railway services between Bank/Tower Gateway and West India Quay/Poplar will be suspended. Replacement buses will operate.
The Central and Jubilee lines are set to serve Stratford as normal on Saturday, with no engineering work planned.
c2c services between Essex and West Ham and Southeastern services from Kent and London St Pancras to Stratford International are also planned to run. However, there are some disruptions on the latter due to engineering works.
Click here to plan your journey on the Transport for London network, or here for National Rail services.
No Room For Racism...
Our fixture against Chelsea is dedicated to the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign, which sees clubs unite to send a powerful message to tackle racism and discrimination, both on and off the pitch.
This message underlines the need for football to work collectively to tackle all forms of discrimination, which have no place in our game or in society.
At West Ham United, we are proud to be based in one of the most multicultural areas of the country where equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do. Regardless of ethnicity, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation or beliefs, everyone is welcome at our Club.
We have been awarded the Advanced level of the Premier League’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Standard (PLEDIS) – the highest level which can be achieved. Our aspiration is to be the equity leader in football and alongside our supporters, this is something we are continually looking to build on and improve.
We thank all of our fans for their ongoing support and for helping us to eradicate the bad behaviours which do not represent our Club, our community or our West Ham United family.
How to Follow...
Saturday's game be broadcast live on television in the UK by BT Sport, and will be shown across the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
You can listen to commentary in the UK on talkSPORT, BBC Radio London 94.9FM and worldwide on whufc.com and our official app.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Official Programme…
West Ham United's 116-page Official Programme for Saturday's Premier League fixture is available to order online now for just £4, plus £1.49 postage and packaging*.
Copies will be sent via first-class post. Full-season subscriptions are also available, including all Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup home issues, from just £119, from the Club's official West Ham Programmes shop.
Team News...
For West Ham United, Kurt Zouma (thigh), Maxwel Cornet (calf), Gianluca Scamacca (knee) and Alphonse Areola (hamstring) all missed last weekend's draw at Newcastle United. Thilo Kehrer was withdrawn at half-time at St James' Park with a hamstring issue.
For Chelsea, Armando Broja (knee), Christian Pulisic (knee), N'Golo Kanté (thigh), Wesley Fofana (knee) and Denis Zakaria (thigh) are out. Mateo Kovačić (knee) could return, but Édouard Mendy (finger) is a major doubt. João Félix is available again after suspension.
Opposition...
It has been a tricky start to life at Chelsea for Graham Potter.
Appointed by the club’s American owners in September, following an impressive spell at Brighton & Hove Albion, Potter has won just nine of his first 22 games in charge.
One win in the Blues’ last seven matches, with just three goals scored, is far from the output Chairman Todd Boehly envisioned when he replaced Thomas Tuchel and shelled out more than £500 million on new players over the past two transfer windows.
Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly, Carney Chukwuemeka, Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria all arrived last summer, followed by David Fofana, Benoît Badiashile João Félix (loan), Mykhailo Mudryk and, courtesy of a British record fee of over £100 million, Argentinian FIFA World Cup winner Enzo Fernández.
Many of those signed have put pen to paper on long-term contracts, with Boehly adopting a similar approach to that employed in his native United States, where he has stakes in basketball’s Los Angeles Lakers and baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers – the initial transfer cost is spread over a number of years and Chelsea are unlikely to lose the player on a free, protecting the investment.
Despite the initial outlay, Chelsea have dropped into mid-table, already lost more Premier League games than they did in the whole of last season, and are out of both domestic cups. While a top-four finish is still possible, it looks unlikely. A UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie with Borussia Dortmund will provide a difficult hurdle to overcome, too.
The Blues’ season has not been helped by the absence of key players due to injury, but full-backs Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling have recently returned, giving Potter cause for optimism, despite seeing his all-star squad held to a goalless draw by Fulham last time out.
“I’m confident with the potential that we have, I’m confident of the ability that’s in the group,” he said. “I think what we need to do now is gel the team. That’s the challenge, that’s what we need to do.”
Of course, gelling so many new players is a challenge, but it is one his Chairman and Chelsea’s impatient and demanding supporters – used to success during the Roman Abramovich era – will expect him to meet sooner rather than later.
Previous Meetings...
West Ham United and Chelsea meet for the 54th time in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues have won 29 of the previous 53 games between the two London clubs, with West Ham winning 15 and nine ending in draws.
Chelsea edged the most-recent meeting at Stamford Bridge in September 2022, when Maxwel Cornet's late leveler was ruled out controversially following a VAR review.
In terms of home games, the Hammers have won three and lost just one of the last five meetings at London Stadium, including memorable last-minute 3-2 victories in July 2020 and December 2021, courtesy of goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Arthur Masuaku respectively.
Match Officials...
Referee: Craig Pawson
Assistant Referees: Marc Perry & Scott Ledger
Fourth Official: Robert Jones
VAR: Neil Swarbrick
Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes
Moore Family Foundation...
Saturday's Premier League fixture against Chelsea is dedicated to raising awareness for the Moore Family Foundation, West Ham United’s Principal Charity Partner.
Roberta Moore, the daughter of West Ham United legend Bobby Moore, established the Moore Family Foundation (MFF) in order to provide educational, mentoring and pupil engagement provision which embodies the six core values displayed by the FIFA World Cup winning captain: courtesy, generosity, hard work, humbleness, respect for others and self-discipline.
The MFF continues to reach some of the most vulnerable young people aged 11 to 18 across East London and Essex by supporting those disengaged from mainstream education; rebuilding their aspirations and pathways to training and employment opportunities.
In order for the Moore Family Foundation to continue to provide life changing pathways for young people, they are looking for individuals and organisations from our local community to help by offering work experience and donations.
To find out more about the Moore Family Foundation please contact Cormac Hanrahan, MFF Lead, at [email protected].
