Antonio Conte’s side have had a run of three home games but they don’t have to travel far as they face David Moyes’s men in this London derby.
West Ham haven’t won any of their last eight games which has left them in the relegation zone and they need the points as they welcome the champions of England.
CHELSEA INJURIES
Michy Batshuayi made his return against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and he is available for the trip to east London. Charly Musonda and Kenedy have also stepped up their recoveries from minor injuries but remain on the fringes of the squad.
The duo played, along with Batshuayi, in the Chelsea development squad’s 4-0 win at MK Dons in the Checkatrade Trophy on Wednesday evening.
David Luiz is the only first-team player missing as he has “fluid in his knee” and has been seeking treatment at Cobham Training Centre. He has begun running, which shows sign of progress.
Conte confirmed the team news ahead of West Ham United at a press conference at Cobham Training Centre on Friday. He added that Danny Drinkwater has caught a virus and he will miss the game.
“David Luiz is out. Always for the knee problems. Danny Drinkwater is out, he’s sick. This is the third day with a fever,” Conte said. “Then we have to check a couple of situations to make the best decision for the game against West Ham United.”
Conte also added that several players may be getting tired from the busy fixture schedule.
CHELSEA SUSPENSIONS
Alvaro Morata and Antonio Rudiger are one domestic booking away from a suspension, but Chelsea have no players currently suspended. David Luiz and Marcos Alonso are on three bookings.
The cut-off for suspensions after accumulating yellow cards is after 19 league games. Chelsea players need to avoid accumulating five bookings until they play Everton on December 23, thus to avoid a suspension.
Conte was sent to the stands against Swansea and he was fined £8,000 without getting a touchline ban.
POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Conte will keep rotating his squad with the club having two games-per-week until January. Pedro, Danny Drinkwater, Willian and Rudiger were among those left out for the recent Champions League game.
Marcos Alonso was rested as one of the key players in his position so he is expected to return. Batshuayi is closing in on making another start but Conte may not deem him ready to play against West Ham.
Morata and Hazard will likely continue with each other as their partnership is proving to be effective in big games. Chelsea will need to put out a strong line up as they can’t afford to drop points with Manchester City opening up an 11 point lead over them.
However, City face one of their toughest tests yet as they face Manchester United at Old Trafford.
WEST HAM TEAM NEWS
Andy Carroll [knee] and Javier Hernandez [hamstring] are doubts for the match against Chelsea. Cheikhou Kouyaté also has a hamstring problem to get over this week, while Mark Noble has a minor hip injury to recover from.
Winston Reid is another who is hoping to be fit after a hamstring injury. Sam Byram and Jose Fonte are both expected to miss out. James Collins is also unlikely to return after suffering a reoccurrence of his injury while playing for the U23s side.
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
West Ham have won just two of their last 22 Premier League games against Chelsea (D4 L16), losing both matches last season 2-1. Half (4) of the eight Premier League defeats that Chelsea have suffered under Antonio Conte have been in London derby matches – Arsenal, Tottenham and Crystal Palace (twice) during the Italian’s reign. West Ham United are now eight games without a win in the Premier League (W0 D3 L5), their worst such-run since December 2015. They haven’t gone nine successive games without a win in the top-flight since May 2011. Eden Hazard has been directly involved in seven goals in his last eight Premier League games against the Hammers (four goals, three assists). Álvaro Morata has been involved in 13 goals for Chelsea within his first 14 Premier League appearances for the club (nine goals, four assists).
TV CHANNEL & KICK OFF TIME
The match is on at 12:30 GMT on Saturday and it will be showin live in the UK on SkySports. The highlights will then be shown BBC’s Match of the Day.
Watch live in the US on fuboTV at 7:30 ET
title: “Chelsea Team News Injuries Suspensions And Line Up Vs West Ham” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Everett Obrien”
Chelsea won the league match between the two teams on the opening day of the season as Diego Costa’s last minute winner made it 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. West Ham knocked Conte’s side out of the EFL Cup with a 2-1 win in October - which came during the Blues’ 13 match-winning run in the Premier League.
Aguero is the king of one thing Pep can’t teach
The EFL Cup game was marred by violence in the stands, but police appear to have improved the crowd control at West Ham’s new stadium, as Chelsea look for another win to maintain their 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
CHELSEA INJURIES
Eden Hazard is a doubt for Chelsea’s game against West Ham after being kicked by an unnamed player in Wednesday’s training session. Conte confirmed in Friday’s press conference that he may not feature in the match on Monday evening.
“Nothing important [injury-wise]. Apart from a little problem for Eden, for Hazard. He got kicked but nothing serious. The rest of the team are in good fitness and working very well.
“The kick was in training, on Wednesday. I don’t remember this [who kicked him, but it was] nothing at all serious.”
Chelsea have endured few injury problems this season and the entire squad is expected to be available for the game at Stamford Bridge.
‘Kante wanted to move to Marseille’
David Luiz is playing through a minor knee injury but has been available for all of Chelsea’s big clashes. Conte, however, brought him and Marcos Alonso back against Swansea City at the weekend after he rested them in the FA Cup win over Wolverhampton Wanderers a fortnight ago.
Charly Musonda and Kenedy have returned to the club after being recalled from their loan moves at Real Betis and Watford respectively, and will provide cover for the current first team for the remainder of the season.
CHELSEA SUSPENSIONS
Chelsea have no players suspended for the match and have had few issues with discipline all season. John Terry has been their only player to be sent off, in the FA Cup against Peterborough United.
In 2017 the rules altered slightly regarding suspensions for an accumulation of yellow cards, with 10 bookings now being required to acquire a ban. David Luiz and Pedro are three bookings away from a two-match suspension as they are now on seven for the campaign.
N’Golo Kante has six bookings in domestic competitions, while Nemanja Matic, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas all have five.
CHELSEA POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Conte is once again set to use his tried and tested first XI. The Blues are having success by making fewer rotations than their rivals while playing in a 3-4-3 formation.
Premier League Team of the Week
In terms of personnel, Pedro and Willian have been battling it out for a place up top, while Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas compete in central midfield. There are signs that Fabregas is beginning to win the battle over the Serbia international, but Conte may opt for the more defensive-minded Matic on Monday.
Diego Costa will lead the line as he competes with the likes of Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku for the Premier League Golden Boot.
WEST HAM TEAM NEWS
West Ham United will see the return of their key striker Andy Carroll for the clash at the London stadium, but will miss Michail Antonio who is suspended due to his two yellow cards in his side’s last match against Watford.
Antonio Conte’s former Juventus defender, Angelo Ogbonna, also missed out due to a knee injury while Diafra Sakho will see a specialist over his back injury. Bilic confirmed his injury problems ahead of Chelsea’s visit on Thursday.
“Just Michail who is suspended who is out [for Chelsea], along with Sakho and Ogbonna,” Bilic said. “Sakho will see a specialist in France to see if he can push on with his training. He could be available in 3-4 weeks.”
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
The Hammers eliminated Chelsea from the League Cup at the fourth round stage this season; winning 2-1 at the London Stadium. Antonio Conte has lost two of his three away London derbies in the Premier League, losing out to Arsenal in September and Tottenham in January, while beating Crystal Palace in the other game. Cesc Fabregas recorded his 102nd Premier League assist in what was his 300th Premier League game last weekend. He needs one more to move outright second ahead of Frank Lampard (also at 102).
TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
The game is due to kick off at 20:00 on Monday night and it will be broadcast on SkySports in the United Kingdom.
