West Ham United v Chelsea
Just four days after holding league leaders Leeds United to a draw in their own backyard, Chelsea face another tricky away day when they travel across London to Upton Park to take on West Ham.
The Blues were victorious when the two sides met in east London last March - in their first away win of the 2000-01 campaign - and after taking eight points out of a possible 12 should start the game as favourites to repeat that success on Wednesday night.
A win would help Claudio Ranieri's team move into the top four of the Premiership and with Frank Lampard set to make his first return to the club where he left for £12 million in the summer it is sure to be a pulsating encounter.
The Hammers bounced back from two heavy away defeats with a fine 2-0 success over Southampton last weekend, a win that ultimately cost Stuart Gray his job at St Mary's, and will be hoping to claim back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Frederic Kanoute was the hero on Saturday with two goals and he managed to help erase one of the major problems that Glenn Roeder has faced this season.
A lack of firepower has seen the Hammers' net just four times from open play before Saturday and their shooting accuracy of 37% is way below Chelsea who have got just under half of their attempts on target.
Roeder knows Chelsea will represent one of his hardest tests of the season so far and after the Hammers' only won one of eight London derbies last term - a 5-0 win against Charlton - a win over the Blues would certainly enhance his popularity with the supporters.
However it will be a tall order against a Chelsea side that are unbeaten in the Premiership since last April and in contrast to the Hammers', boast a 17% goals-to-shots-ratio.
Leading scorer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will be keen to get back among the goals again after firing his first blank in two months at Elland Road last Sunday. The Dutchman scored in both meetings between the two teams last season and is quoted at 4/1 to score first on Wednesday.
But he will be hoping for consistent service from the flanks, as he received little in the way of quality wide balls to help him score against his former club. And the Blues low cross completion rate of 19% is an area the team will need to improve upon during the course of the season.
Benji Romaner. Match referee: D. Gallagher
After handling the recent Sheffield derby at Hillsborough, referee Dermot Gallagher should be able to cope with this capital clash. The FIFA official has been one of the most lenient officials in the Premiership this season issuing an average of 2.67 cards per game.
Referee's Name FoulsPenaltiesYellow CardsRed CardsAve
Disc pointsD. Gallagher 82 0 8 0 35.33
PLAYER HEAD-TO-HEAD
click below for in-depth comparisonHutchison v Lampard
TEAM NEWS
West Ham left-back Nigel Winterburn should keep his place after completing 90 minutes against Southampton. Joe Cole's foot injury is expected to keep him out for another fortnight at least, with David James' comeback pencilled in for a similar time. Tomas Repka plays his last game before a suspension.
Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly is in contention for a starting place as he returns after an Achilles injury. Slavisa Jokanovic is also available again after a ban.
MATCH BETTING
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Match Result West Ham15/8Draw11/5Chelsea6/5Correct Score West Ham 1-07/1West Ham 2-012/1West Ham 2-110/1 West Ham 3-033/1West Ham 3-125/1West Ham 3-228/1West Ham 4-0100/1West Ham 4-180/1West Ham 4-280/1West Ham 5-0100/1West Ham 5-1100/1Draw 0-08/1Draw 1-111/2Draw 2-214/1Draw 3-350/1Chelsea 1-06/1Chelsea 2-09/1Chelsea 2-115/2Chelsea 3-016/1Chelsea 3-116/1Chelsea 3-225/1Chelsea 4-050/1Chelsea 4-140/1Chelsea 4-250/1Chelsea 5-0100/1Chelsea 5-1100/1Double Result West Ham/West Ham4/1West Ham/Draw15/1West Ham/Chelsea28/1Draw/West Ham11/2Draw/Draw7/2Draw/Chelsea4/1Chelsea/West Ham33/1Chelsea/Draw15/1Chelsea/Chelsea11/4First Goalscorer F Kanoute6/1P Di Canio6/1S Todorov7/1P Kitson7/1J Defoe7/1D Hutchison9/1T Sinclair14/1Carrick16/1Mccann20/1Courtois25/1S Moncur33/1T Repka40/1S Schmemel40/1C Dailly40/1N Winterburn50/1H Foxe50/1R Soma50/1No Goalscorer8/1J Has'baink4/1E Gudjohnsen5/1M Forssell6/1G Zola6/1M Stanic12/1B Zenden12/1F Lampard14/1S Dalla-Bona16/1E Pettit20/1S Jokanovic20/1J Terry25/1C Babayaro33/1M Melchiot33/1G Le Saux40/1W Gallas40/1M Desailly40/1A Ferrer50/1
For all these bets + much more go now to Hammers Bet
By Road:
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