London rivals West Ham and Chelsea go head-to-head at the London Stadium on Wednesday night in the fourth round of the EFL Cup. Both sides have hit decent form of late, having previously gone through poor runs of form.
The home side endured an atrocious start to their Premier League campaign. However, the Hammers have recorded consecutive 1-0 wins in the English top-flight. The victories over Crystal Palace and Sunderland will have raised spirits in the Hammers camp.
The consecutive clean sheets will also have been encouraging for Irons boss Slaven Bilic, as only Premier League new boys Hull have conceded more goals than the London club this season.
The Hammers new found defensive solidarity will be tested by the visitors, who have scored two or more goals in their last three Premier League games.
The visitors have now recorded three straight Premier League wins and also three consecutive clean sheets in those victories. Antonio Conte’s switch of formation in the last few games has proved a highly successful one.
Chelsea head to West Ham with a superior head-to-head record, as the Hammers have won just two of the last ten meetings between the two sides. However, both of those wins have come on home soil, but they were at the Boleyn Ground. The Hammers form at their new home the London Stadium has been poor so far.
The Blues have already beaten their London rivals 2-1 at Stamford Bridge this season in the league. The visitors will be confident of recording another victory in this clash. Both teams have other priorities this season, so they may choose to field weakened teams, but it should still be an entertaining clash.
Whoever plays in this game it looks set to produce a tight clash. Recent meetings have been tight, with not much between the two teams. It looks like this game could follow that theme.