Pundit Paul Merson has been ‘impressed’ by West Ham and names the star who’ll decide the ‘massive’ Chelsea clash this weekend.
West Ham welcome rivals Chelsea to the London Stadium on Saturday for what is set to be a huge game for both teams.
It is fair to say West Ham and Chelsea have fallen way below expectations in the Premier League this season.
So there is plenty riding on this particular London derby.
West Ham seem to be slowly but surely turning a corner in their battle for survival under David Moyes and recorded a 1-1 draw at Champions League hopefuls Newcastle last time out.
Meanwhile Chelsea are under increasing pressure with their mammoth £600m spend weighing Graham Potter down in mid-table – a full 10 points off Newcastle in fourth.
Chelsea are clearly at the start of a major rebuild while West Ham themselves have undergone a huge turnover of 24 players since the summer.
Merson has been ‘impressed’ by West Ham and names star who’ll decide the ‘massive’ Chelsea clash.
Pundit and Chelsea fan Merson has told Sportskeeda he believes West Ham can take advantage of the fact Potter does not even seem to know his best team.
But he believes the return of new signing Joao Felix will be the difference between the two sides as he predicts a 2-1 win for the Blues over the Hammers.
“This is a massive game for both teams,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“You’d like to think that Chelsea will get better with an extra bit of work this week. They were a bit hit-and-miss last week, and it might take a bit of time for them to get it right with the amount of talent they have.
“I thought West Ham played well against Newcastle. When they went down by a goal against Newcastle, I thought it would be a cricket score. They managed to turn it around on the day and could give Chelsea a hard game this week…
“This is a new Chelsea team, and Graham Potter has not had long to work with them. There are no excuses this weekend – this is a big game for the club and the supporters. We’re in February now, and I can’t tell you Chelsea’s team this weekend – I’d be thrilled if I get seven players right. They’ve had a bit of a stop-start season.
“This is a hard game to call, but I’m going to go with Chelsea. They’ll have Joao Felix back for this game, and they might have too much for West Ham going forward.”
MORE WEST HAM NEWS
West Ham star showed he was desperate for Newcastle move so Moyes is lucky to have him.
Smitten Sullivan dons silver shoes as he’s pictured leaving surprise party with fiance.
Insane West Ham record is mind-blowing in bid to avoid relegation.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
