Chelsea v West Ham United
Premier League, Stamford Bridge, Saturday 3 September, 3pm BST
West Ham United will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to four matches when they head to Chelsea for a second London derby of the week on Saturday.
Following victories over Viborg FF and Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa Conference League and Premier League respectively, and a lively 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, David Moyes’ men will head to Stamford Bridge in good spirits and hopeful of continuing to build momentum.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have experienced a mixed start to their campaign, suffering a 2-1 defeat at Southampton on Tuesday, just three days after the Blues had seen off Leicester City at home. They have seven points from their opening five games and will be expecting to find more consistency in the weeks and months ahead.
Following the scheduling of the Blues’ Champions League opener against Dinamo Zagreb for Tuesday, this fixture also represents a rare outing in the traditional Saturday 3pm slot for the Hammers – our first since a trip to Manchester United in January of this year.
It promises to be a cracker, so get set for the match with our extensive preview here…
Tickets…
The first 90% of tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 22 or more Points. The remaining 10% (298 tickets) were then made available via a ballot to Season Ticket Holders who had yet to purchase for this fixture. The ballot closed at 12pm on Tuesday 16 August.
Seats are on sale to Season Ticket Holders and Bondholders for our home UEFA Europa Conference League fixture with FCSB and our Premier League games against Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are on General Sale! Click here to buy your tickets now.
How to Follow…
Saturday’s match will not be broadcast live on television in the UK. However, you can listen to live commentary in the UK on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio London 94.9FM, and on whufc.com or our official mobile 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.
Travel...
Stamford Bridge is well served by public transport, like most London stadia.
The nearest London Underground station is Fulham Broadway, which is on the District line’s Wimbledon branch.
To get there from central London, take a Wimbledon-bound train from Earl’s Court station, which is on the Circle and Piccadilly lines. Earl’s Court station itself is also within 20 minutes’ walk of Stamford Bridge.
Alternatively, one can reach Stamford Bridge by London Overground direct from Stratford, with West Brompton and Imperial Wharf stations on the Clapham Junction route a 15-minute walk away from the ground.
Various buses pass the stadium on Fulham Road, including the 14 (from Euston Square to Putney), 211 (from Waterloo Station to Hammersmith), 414 (from Maida Vale to Putney Bridge), 11 (from Liverpool Street), 28 (from Kensal Rise), 296 (from Ladbroke Grove and Clapham Junction), and 391 (from Richmond).
Plan ahead for your journey using the TfL website for London Overground, London Overground, Elizabeth Line, DLR and buses, and the National Rail website for journeys using the railway network.
Team News…
Ben Johnson will miss Saturday’s trip to Stamford Bridge with a hamstring injury he picked up in last weekend’s victory at Aston Villa.
The Hammers defender missed Wednesday’s derby draw with Tottenham and will also sit out the meeting with Chelsea.
Meanwhile, David Moyes will also take late checks on Gianluca Scamacca, who was absent on Wednesday due to illness, and Aaron Cresswell, who departed the action in the second period.
Nayef Aguerd (ankle) remains on the road to recovery from his injury.
Lucas Paquetá made his Hammers debut from the bench on Wednesday and will hope for more involvement after training with his new team for the first time in the latter part of this week.
Chelsea added to their squad close to deadline day, signing Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana, Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Abameyang and Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria, although Aubameyang is currently sidelined with injury and Zakaria is awaiting his work permit.
The Opposition...
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has undertaken a major rebuild of his Blues squad this summer.
This week's arrivals of Fofana, Aubameyang and Zakaria have taken the summer spend - backed by new chairman Todd Boehly - to close to £250m.
In addition to this week's trio, Chelsea had already signed Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, Aston Villa's midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, Brighton's Marc Cucurella and Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan.
With the likes of Antonio Rüdiger, Andreas Christensen, Timo Werner, Emerson, Marcos Alonso and Romelu Lukaku all heading the other way, it represents quite the rebuild for a team who won the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, reached both domestic cup finals and finished third in the Premier League last term.
It is fair to say the start the Blues have made this season has been slower than expected, with a comprehensive defeat at Leeds United, being followed by another loss on the road this midweek at Southampton.
Their home form has been better, beating Leicester City 2-1 and drawing with Tottenham Hotspur 2-2, but Tuchel will certainly be hoping his new signings help launch his side up the table swiftly.
West Ham, however, will have their signs on halting that charge for another week at least.
Previous Meetings...
West Ham United and Chelsea meet for the 53rd time in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues have won 28 of the previous 52 games between the two London clubs, with West Ham winning 15 and nine ending in draws.
We were beaten 1-0 at Stamford Bridge last season, but we have enjoyed some memorable days there in the Premier League era, including a 1-0 victory achieved in November 2019.
Prior to that, we also won there in October 1994 (2-1), February 1996 (2-1), March 1999 (1-0) and September 2002 (3-2).
Our most memorable visit to Chelsea in living memory was a 4-0 victory achieved in March 1986, when Frank McAvennie, Tony Cottee (two) and Alan Devonshire got the goals as John Lyall’s side continued their march towards a record-high third-place Division One finish.
Match Officials...
Referee: Andy Madley
Assistant Referees: Harry Lennard, Scott Ledger
Fourth Official: Thomas Bramall
VAR: Jarred Gillett
Assistant VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis
Yorkshireman Andrew Madley began his refereeing career in the local Wakefield leagues before advancing through the levels before becoming a Level 3A referee and starting to run the line in the Football League in 2008.
In 2009, he was promoted to the Panel List which allowed him to referee in the Conference divisions before progressing further the following year by becoming a Select Group Assistant Referee in the Premier League.
In 2011, he became a National List Referee, officiating in the Football League, before being promoted to Select Group 2 in 2016.
Madley took charge of his first Premier League fixture on 31 March 2018, a 2-2 draw between Watford and AFC Bournemouth.
He was promoted to the Select Group 1 Referees list in the summer of 2019.
The 38-year-old has taken charge of West Ham fixtures just four times previously - the 2-0 FA Cup third-round win at Gillingham in January 2020, followed by the 3-0 Premier League victory at Leicester City in October 2020, the goalless draw at Southampton in December that year, and the 3-1 win at Aston Villa in February 2021.
