West Ham v Chelsea: Betting Preview

West Ham v Chelsea
Live on Sky Sports 1. Kick off 4pm

Struggling West Ham host out-of-sorts Chelsea in Sunday’s live 4pm kick-off, but Betfair’s “Mystical” Mike Norman believes the Blues will be the team smiling at the end.

Right now I’m eternally grateful that I don’t really exist; I’m just a computer generated football writer that spouts out predictions from time to time.

The reason I (I being test case X36E) say this is because just a few weeks back I came up with some deluded perception that Chelsea were by far the best team in the country, would win the Premier League hands down, and that they wouldn’t lose another game in the remainder of the season.

What followed saw Chelsea lose to Manchester City, fail to beat European minnows APOEL Nicosia, and concede three goals at home to Premier League strugglers Everton. So apparently I’ve jinxed them, and the Stamford Bridge lynch mob are baying for my blood. Well I’m sorry, but if the Blues turn over the Hammers this Sunday will you forgive me and not come to Betfair headquarters and smash me (computer XT27845-L) into smithereens?

The Match Odds market has West Ham available to back at 9.2, Chelsea at 1.42, and The Draw available at 5.1.

I’ve established that Chelsea’s form has been a bit sketchy of late – a view backed up by their scrappy 2-1 victory over Portsmouth in midweek – but what about West Ham? Gianfraco Zola’s men just can’t stop conceding goals at the moment (14 in five games) and have won just twice since the opening day of the season. I can’t help but feel that Didier Drogba and co are licking their lips at the prospect of this one.

Matthew Upson returns to bolster/weaken (delete as you see fit – I’m not a fan personally) the Hammers defence whilst in attack Luis Jimenez is in line for a return. As already eluded too, Drogba returns for Chelsea and Ricardo Carvalho (for Alex) and Joe Cole (for Deco) should also start.

Chelsea have an excellent record at Upton Park (they’ve won on their last four visits) and I fully expect that to continue on Sunday, especially as Carlo Ancelotti’s men are now the only team in the Premier League to have scored in every game they’ve played this season, whilst West Ham have conceded nine in their last three home games. I can see the Blues coming out of the blocks quickly here and I have no hesitation putting up Chelsea/Chelsea at 2.14 in the Half Time/Full Time market as my best bet of the game. If you disagree, you can back Draw/Chelsea at 4.7 or Draw/Draw at 8.4. I can’t have any scenario that involves West Ham winning… sorry.

It’s no coincidence to me that with Carlton Cole in their team West Ham scored quite regularly (21 in 10 games at one point), but since his injury they’ve only managed to net once in three games. Now up against one of the best defences in Europe, I predict the Hammers will struggle to score on Sunday and therefore would recommend a wager on the Yes option at 2.1 in the Chelsea Clean Sheet market.

I have no interest in the Over/Under 2.5 Goals and Correct Score markets for this game but for those of you who are interested, Over 2.5 Goals is the more fancied at 1.78, whilst Correct Scores of 0-1 (8.2), 0-2 (7.4) and 1-2 (9.6) are amongst the most likely to happen according to Betfairians.

It’ll be no surprise to regular readers of these pages that I’m selecting Joe Cole in the To Score and First Goalscorer markets at odds of 4.5 and 12.0 respectively. True, the likes of Drogba (2.2 TS, 5.0 FG) and Nicolas Anelka (2.5 TS, 6.0 FG) are probably safer wagers, but I’m a huge fan of Cole and can see this lad having a great second half of the season just in time for the World Cup – providing he stays injury-free of course. Let’s hope I haven’t jinxed him either!

• Best Bet: Back Chelsea/Chelsea @ 2.14 in Half Time/Full Time market
• Also: Back Yes @ 2.1 in Chelsea Clean Sheet market; Back Joe Cole @ 4.5 in To Score market and @ 12.0 in First Goalscorer market

Reproduced with permission from betting.Betfair.com. © The Sporting Exchange Limited

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