West Ham vs. Chelsea: Premier League betting odds, preview, and pick

The early Premier League game on Saturday is a tasty London derby between league leaders Chelsea and top four hopefuls West Ham.

The Blues have maintained their grip at the top of the table, despite some below-par performances, while the Hammers have hit a rut in the last month, which is threatening to derail their season.

Chelsea are road favorites as they try to hold on to their position at the top of the Premier League.

A hammer blow

West Ham currently lead the race to be best of the rest, behind Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool, but the wheels are somewhat coming off for the Hammers. After losing just two of their opening 11 league games, picking up 23 points from a possible 33, it’s all going wrong at the London Stadium.

West Ham had some thrilling early successes, beating Leicester and Tottenham, and early in November, they shocked Liverpool with a brilliant 3-2 win. But since that game, they lost away to Wolves, lost away to Man City, and drew 1-1 with Brighton this week after conceding a last-minute equalizer.

Suddenly, it’s been nearly a month without a Premier League win, and now West Ham face London rivals and league leaders Chelsea.

It’s been five league games without a clean sheet for David Moyes’ men, but finding the net hasn’t been a problem, as they’ve scored in nine of their last 10.

The Sign of Champions?

Chelsea haven’t been playing particularly well of late, but they keep winning — a sign of Champions, as the old saying goes.

The Blues are now undefeated in their last 12 games in all competitions (winning nine and drawing three) and beat Watford at Stamford Bridge 2-1 in mid-week.

The performance was poor, and coach Thomas Tuchel criticized the players afterwards, but he had made six changes to his team and rested his three best midfielders.

Being able to do that and still win is a mark of a very strong side. Liverpool and Manchester City’s free-flowing, fast-paced, attacking football might be easier on the eye, but Chelsea are grinding out results and are still top of the league.

Tuchel’s men have so much strength across the pitch. No team in the league has kept more clean sheets than Chelsea (eight) and no team has conceded fewer goals (six).

Away from home particularly, Chelsea have conceded just two goals in seven games. Going forward in attack, only Liverpool have scored more goals than Chelsea’s 33, and the only time they failed to find the net in 14 league games this season was against Manchester City.

With Romelu Lukaku close to full fitness again, they’re only going to get better in front of goal.

West Ham and Chelsea Betting Trends

• Both teams to score has clicked in just two of the last eight league games between West Ham and Chelsea
• Chelsea have scored in 13 of their 14 league games this season (93%)
• Chelsea have kept clean sheets in five of their seven league games on the road (71%)
• Over 2.5 goals has hit in nine of West Ham’s 14 league games (64%)
• The Hammers have scored in 12 of their 14 league games (86%)
• There has been Under 2.5 goals in six of the last eight league games between Chelsea and West Ham

Chelsea to pop West Ham's bubble

West Ham may be on the slide, but they have enough about them to make life difficult for Chelsea.

The last time the Hammers lost a league game by more than one goal was January 31, so don’t expect Chelsea to be able to pull too far clear of them at the London Stadium.

Tuchel’s men are the superior side, however, and despite not firing on all cylinders, they should still have too much quality for West Ham.

For betting purposes, it was hard to pick between 0-1 and 1-2 to Chelsea, but given the recent head-to-heads between these sides and Chelsea’s defensive record this season, I fancy them to keep the Hammers out.   

Score prediction: West Ham 0-1 Chelsea (+540)

West Ham vs. Chelsea pick: Under 2.5 goals (-134)

Same Game Combo: Chelsea to win, Under 2.5 goals, Romelu Lukaku to score (+800)