Chelsea open the month looking to turn around their fortunes in the Premier League when they host West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.
The honeymoon period of the Enzo Maresca tenure is over. Chelsea were second in the Premier League going into Christmas, playing some of the best soccer in England and even being talked about as possible title challengers. However, that notion quickly disappeared, as the Blues have won just one of their last seven league games, falling out of the Champions League places altogether after one of their worst performances of the season in the 1-3 defeat to Manchester City.
Despite the drop in form, Chelsea have a golden opportunity in front of them. Newcastle United, Bournemouth, Manchester City and Aston Villa all lost over the weekend, meaning a win would elevate Chelsea back to fourth, opening a small gap with their nearest chasers.
Graham Potter will make his return to Stamford Bridge and will be welcomed by a side that's still without Wesley Fofana, Benoît Badiashile and Romeo Lavia. Despite the recent struggles, Maresca has stuck with a fairly similar lineup lately with the trend likely to continue.
Here's how Chelsea could lineup in a London derby vs. West Ham United.
JOIN SI SOCCER'S CHELSEA WHATSAPP COMMUNITY - GET ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE
Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. West Ham United (4-2-3-1)
GK: Filip Jörgensen—Robert Sánchez has had a nightmare start to 2025 and could see his number one role taken away from him by Jörgensen.
RB: Reece James—Chelsea's captain has been a bright spot in recent games.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah—Chalobah will look to replicate his performance vs. Wolves when he was re-introduced to the Stamford Bridge faithful.
CB: Levi Colwill—Colwill will partner Chalobah in the middle of defense.
LB: Marc Cucurella—The Spain international has been solid all season and has found the back of the net three times in the past two months.
CM: Moisés Caicedo—Caicedo has looked slightly exhausted in recent games but his presence is essential for Maresca's system.
CM: Enzo Fernández—Although he's no longer scoring or assisting every game, Fernández has still been one of Chelsea's main creators off late.
RW: Pedro Neto—Neto will get a chance to start over Noni Madueke.
AM: Cole Palmer—Palmer had a frustrating night against his former team and will look to get back on track.
LW: Jadon Sancho—Sancho will look to bag his second Chelsea assist in as many games vs. West Ham.
READ THE LATEST SOCCER NEWS, PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. West Ham United: Premier League.
