West Ham United play host to Chelsea in the Premier League at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The West Ham vs Chelsea Premier League clash is a vitally important one for us, and Julen Lopetegui especially.
The Hammers head coach has to get his team selection spot on, after failing miserably in that department last weekend away at Fulham.
That said, Lopetegui proved that he’s not afraid to change things and admit that he got it wrong from the start, with two changes at half-time, and then another three during the second-half.
However, the Spaniard must get it right from the first whistle for the clash with Chelsea at the London Stadium.
Four points from our opening four games isn’t a horrendous return. In fact, we’re three points and nine goals better off from the corresponding fixtures last season.
A win against Chelsea this weekend with be huge for everyone involved with West Ham.
And we’ve just been given a major boost heading into the clash.
West Ham handed boost ahead of Premier League clash with Chelsea
So the Hammers are all set to welcome the Blues to the London Stadium this weekend.
We actually have a very good record against Chelsea at the London Stadium, and have only lost once to them at home since March 2017.
However, there is one big concern for us heading into the game – the fitness of one of our key players.
It’s seemingly all good though…
According to The Sun’s Jack Rosser, there’s reason for the West Ham fans to be really optimistic.
That’s because the injury suffered by Emerson Palmeiri at Fulham on Saturday isn’t thought to be too serious.
He said, “West Ham hopeful Emerson has avoided serious injury after scans today. Picked up a thigh problem at Fulham but scans showed nothing too concerning.“
Emerson Palmieri vital for West Ham
The 30-year-old was signed from Chelsea in the summer of 2022 for around £13 million.
He has proven to be a brilliant signing for us, and Lopetegui clearly views him as a vital player in his system.
Emerson has come on leaps and bounds over the past 12-18 months, and his ability on the ball and pace down the left hand side is incredibly important to the way that Lopetegui wants his team to play.
The thought of having the Italian unavailable for selection for a lengthy period of time is a really concerning one.
That means that either Aaron Cresswell will fill in for him or Aaron Wan-Bissaka will swap over to the left with Vladimir Coufal coming into the team at right-back.
I’m really not a fan of either of those options.
So the news that Emerson Palmieri’s injury isn’t serious at all really is great news for West Ham heading into the Chelsea game.
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