Venue: Upton Park
Date: Sunday, 20 December 2009
Kick-off: 1600 GMT
Thirteen years after Carlo Ancelotti sold Gianfranco Zola to Chelsea, they come face to face as managers with our trip to Upton Park this afternoon. Zola’s West Ham come into this game with some pretty poor results behind them, having lost their last three games, whilst we somehow managed a late win against Pompey in our last game although hadn’t won in four before that.
MANAGERS’ VIEWS
With his side now in the relegation zone, Zola looks to this game reflecting on West Ham’s defeats but clear about his approach today, stating “Losing to Manchester United can happen but I know that the other two games we lost were painful. They belong to the past and if you keep switching to the past it doesn’t help the situation. We have a massive game against Chelsea. The focus and energy has to be on that. We know that they have been conceding from set-pieces. We have been very dangerous from set-pieces ourselves so that might be the key to the game. Chelsea have lost a bit of confidence and I am not sure why, but I hope it continues. Chelsea are not the same Chelsea they were some time ago. But they are still top of the league and a fantastic performance is required from us.”
Carlo Ancelotti meanwhile, having seen us struggle against Pompey mid-week, isn’t taking this game lightly either, saying “I think that Gianfranco Zola is not living a good moment, but he has quality to improve. West Ham have had a lot of problems with injuries, but we have to pay attention to this game. It’s a derby and they will put a very good spirit into this game. When you play against a team at the bottom of the league, you have to pay attention. They will do their best to win. We saw that against Portsmouth. They created a lot of difficulties for us. We have to give respect to every team. Not only the teams at the top of the table, also the teams that don’t want to drop into the Championship.”
SQUAD NEWS
For West Ham, Kieron Dyer (hamstring), Davenport (leg), Carlton Cole, Valon Behrami, Boa Morte and Zavon Hines (all knee) miss out although Luis Jimenez and Matthew Upson both return.
For Chelsea, Jose Bosingwa (knee) and Michael Essien (hamstring) remain out whilst Daniel Sturridge (hip/thigh) is doubtful. Didier Drogba returns from the back injury that saw him miss out mid-week, Ricardo Carvalho is expected to replace Alex, with Joe Cole coming in for Deco.
TEAMS
WEST HAM (from): Green, Kurucz, Faubert, Da Costa, Gabbidon, Upson, Tomkins, Ilunga, Spector, Kovac, Noble, Parker, Collison, Payne, Diamanti, Jimenez, Stanislas, Franco
CHELSEA (from): Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Ivanovic, Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Obi, Malouda, J Cole, Zhirkov, Drogba, Anelka, Kalou, Kakuta, Bruma, Borini, Deco, Sturridge, Matic
LAST MEETING
West Ham 0-1 Chelsea (25 April 2009)
PREDICTION
On paper this one looks easy enough – we’ve won our last 4 trips to Upton Park with West Ham failing to beat us in our last 9 meetings in all competitions. More recent form also suggests we should be alright, with the hammers conceding 9 goals in their last 3 games with just the one solitary goal in response. We, on the other hand, have scored more goals and kept more clean sheets than any other team in the league so far this season. However, we have lost three of our last five away from home and as Zola points out, we’re particularly vulnerable from set-pieces, so this might not be the easy ride we’d like it to be.
REFEREE
Mike Dean
Blue is the colour
