Premier League: West Ham vs. Chelsea, the London derby between ice and fire, is there no suspense?

West Ham United vs. Chelsea on Friday 23 August at 3:00 am, the second round of the Premier League will be staged - West Ham United faces Chelsea at the London Stadium. This game is a key battle to stop the decline for West Ham United: the first round away defeat of the newly promoted Sunderland 0-3, exposing the problem of collapse in the defense line and weak offense. Although Chelsea draws Crystal Palace 0-0 in the first round, the new coach Maresca needs to solve the problem of forward efficiency. Both sides need to be vigilant about the impact of the injury wave, and whether the Hammer Gang's home momentum can reverse the decline has become the focus.

In the first round of the new season, West Ham United lost to Sunderland 0-3 away, temporarily ranking 19th. West Ham United started the season with a bad start and was hit hard by Sunderland on the road last weekend. The performance of the new season was disappointing. Additionally, they won only one of their last eight home leagues last season. West Ham United's new coach Porter tried the three-center-back system, but in the first round, the system's wing defense loopholes were obvious and was crossed by the opponent 15 times. The team relies too much on Bowen on the offensive end. Last season, Bowen participated in 42% of the team's goals, but the midfield lacked support, and the success rate of passing in the first round was only 75%.

Chelsea drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace at home, ranking 11th with 1 point. Chelsea won all of its past three matches with West Ham United, but failed to win at home against Crystal Palace in the first round of the new season, and their performance was unsatisfactory. Chelsea's new coach Maresca changed to a 4-2-3-1 formation, emphasizing midfield possession, with Kesédo and Enzo serving as double midfielders. The wing relies on Kukurelia to plug in and upload, and the success rate of the preseason cross is 35%. However, Chelsea's new players Pedro and Drapp failed to integrate into the system in the first round of the game, and the offensive efficiency needs to be improved.

Chelsea dominates in the historical confrontation. Since 2010, West Ham United has not won a single victory in 12 league home games against Chelsea and lost 10 games. However, in the last five encounters at London Stadium, both sides won twice and tied once, and the competition was fierce. Chelsea beat West Ham United 1-0 at home last season.

Overall, Chelsea has an advantage in terms of value, combat history, odds trend, etc. Although the team has some injuries, the overall lineup thickness and strength are still stronger than West Ham United. Chelsea is more likely to win this game.

Reference: Negative

Score: 0-2 1-3