Can Hammers burst Blues’ bubble?

WEST HAM v CHELSEA

A BRUTALLY honest Thomas Tuchel conceded that Chelsea “stole three points” when winning 2-1 at Watford on Wednesday and his stuttering team might have to settle for a stalemate when taking on West Ham at the London Stadium.

Tuchel will be anxious to address the issues with his team’s midweek performance, which included a lack of intensity and a regular loss of composure when it came to dealing with the Hornets’ high press.

And he will be aware that similar failings are far more likely to be punished by the fourth-placed Hammers.

Tuchel should have a few more options at his disposal with N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Reece James returning to contention and Romelu Lukaku closing in on full match fitness.

All four are big players who will boost Chelsea’s performance, but the Blues will need to be better because West Ham are on course to have another very good season and have shown they can be competitive against the top teams.

The Irons triumphed 3-2 at home to Liverpool last month – becoming the only team this season to topple Jurgen

Klopp’s side – and gave an excellent account of themselves in last weekend’s 2-1 loss at Manchester City.

West Ham approach the weekend looking to atone for Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at home to Brighton when they were undone by a superb 89thminute overhead kick from Neal Maupay.

However, they played to a decent standard against the Seagulls and Aaron Cresswell’s expected return gives them another boost in a season which has been largely free of injury concerns. Angelo Ogbonna’s long-term knee injury has been the only major issue, but eight players have featured in at least 13 of their 14 Premier League games and consistency of selection has contributed to a stream of high-level performances.

David Moyes (left) refuses to dismiss their chances of a top-four finish and if he continues to keep a largely healthy squad there may be an opportunity for West Ham to achieve a breakthrough campaign.

Chelsea have eyes only for top spot and will continue to approach every game aiming for three points.

They have the best away record in the Premier League, with 19 points accrued from a possible 21, including a pair of hugely impressive wins at Arsenal and Tottenham.

However, Chelsea have also enjoyed fortunate away successes at Brentford and Watford and their luck may run out against the Hammers, who can pick up their second draw of the week.

BEST BET Draw 1pt 27-10 Hills