West Ham United vs. Chelsea – English Premier League, April 24, 2021

With just a goal difference separating these two clubs on either side of the Champions League cut-off, this is a huge game in the EPL this weekend.

West Ham has been very impressive but needs to come back from a disappointing performance at the weekend, whereas Chelsea returns to the league after booking an FA Cup final spot on Saturday.

The fact that BetOnline is making Chelsea the odds on favorite to win away from home, suggests that it saw West Ham’s defeat to Newcastle at the weekend as a sign of the club’s fragility.

I feel the odds should be closer here, although Chelsea should still be considered the favorite to pick up all three points.

After some excellent results in recent weeks, the defeat to struggling Newcastle on Saturday has derailed West Ham’s chances of making it into the top four this season. The loss was nothing short of deserved, and David Moyes must be as frustrated as anyone with the timing of the result.

West Ham looked by far the second-best side for large parts of the game – and even allowed Newcastle back in after it had finally drawn level. The Hammers have also conceded at least two goals in each of their last four games now – and that is something that Thomas Tuchel will have definitely noted ahead of this clash.

The London club thoroughly deserved the win and now has an excellent chance to reward the German coach with his first piece of silverware at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea will also believe that it can overcome a defensively suspect West Ham on Saturday, with players who had not been well utilized by Frank Lampard returning to form. More importantly, Chelsea will go three points clear of West Ham with a win here – and could even overtake Leicester to go up to third.

West Ham will undoubtedly be up for this game after the disappointment at St James’ Park. But David Moyes is battling against a mini injury crisis at the club and will be without Michel Antonio once again.

On the other hand, Chelsea’s players are starting to flourish now and should be able to take advantage in the race for Champions League qualification.