Chelsea will now be without seven first team stars for West Ham says the official site while David Moyes is boosted by duo.
Chelsea may have been adding to their expensive squad like there’s no tomorrow – but they’ll be without a large number of them for the clash with West Ham.
As we reported yesterday Chelsea have been hit by a major blow with the news that new captain Reece James will miss the West Ham clash at the London Stadium through injury.
Last week James stated he had realised a dream after being named Chelsea captain.
But it’s a nightmare for Mauricio Pochettino as he loses arguably his most important player ahead of the big game against the Hammers on Sunday.
Chelsea will now be without seven first team stars for West Ham says official site while David Moyes is boosted by duo
It is hard for West Ham fans – or indeed David Moyes by his own admission pre-match – to know what to expect from Chelsea after their near £1bn transfer spend.
The same can probably be said for Blues fans too in these early days of the new season.
Now West Ham will be hoping to take advantage of any unfamiliarity, especially in light of teams news emerging ahead of the clash.
Because Chelsea will now be without seven first team stars for West Ham says the official site while Moyes is boosted by duo.
In West Ham’s official preview for the match, it names six players that Chelsea will definitely be without. While there will probably be no surprises for Blues fans, West Ham supporters may not realise just how many of Pochettino’s squad are unavailable for the game.
As Moyes welcomes duo into the Hammers fold he’ll be hoping for a repeat of Ward-Prowse’s heroics the last time he faced Chelsea
Striker Christopher Nkunku is out for several months after undergoing knee surgery, fellow Frenchman Wesley Fofana is also expected to be out of action for the foreseeable future with a serious injury.
Centre-back Benoit Badiashile has returned to training after a hamstring injury but the site states this weekend’s match “will likely come too soon for the Frenchman”.
And the preview claims Trevor Chalobah, Armando Broja and Marcus Bettinelli are all still absent due to injury.
On the flip side the preview confirms what Moyes stated in his presser – that new signings James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez are available for West Ham.
The Hammers will be hoping for a repeat of Ward-Prowse’s heroics from the last time he faced Chelsea.
The dead ball specialist scored a wonderful last gasp free-kick to help Southampton beat the Blues back in February.