Chelsea have split opinion ahead of their visit to West Ham, with Paul Merson and Chris Sutton disagreeing on their score predictions. David Moyes' side are set to welcome the Blues to the London Stadium as both clubs look to build up a head of steam following some turbulent form.
The west Londoners currently sit ninth in the Premier League and 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Newcastle United. Meanwhile, the Hammers are 17th and only one point above the relegation zone.
Following a bold display against the Magpies at St James' Park, West Ham can draw great confidence from their performance in Tyneside. Chelsea, on the other hand, have scored just once in their previous three games and Merson believes that Joao Felix will help end Graham Potter's side draught in front of goal.
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Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, the Arsenal legend predicted the Blues to waltz away 2-1 victors in east London. Merson wrote: "This is a massive game for both teams. You’d like to think that Chelsea will get better with an extra bit of work this week.
"They were a bit hit-and-miss last week, and it might take a bit of time for them to get it right with the amount of talent they have. I thought West Ham played well against Newcastle. When they went down by a goal against Newcastle, I thought it would be a cricket score.
"They managed to turn it around on the day and could give Chelsea a hard game this week. When [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang came on as a substitute and was taken off, that was the end for him at Chelsea.
"It’s all right when you do it to a youngster but when you do it to an experienced player, there’s no way back," Merson added. "Don’t get me wrong – he’s been an unbelievable player over the years, but he wasn’t what Chelsea needed at the time.
"This is a new Chelsea team, and Graham Potter has not had long to work with them. There are no excuses this weekend – this is a big game for the club and the supporters. We’re in February now, and I can’t tell you Chelsea’s team this weekend – I’d be thrilled if I get seven players right. They’ve had a bit of a stop-start season.
"This is a hard game to call, but I’m going to go with Chelsea. They’ll have Joao Felix back for this game, and they might have too much for West Ham going forward."
Sutton disagreed, predicting a draw. The former Chelsea striker showered West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd with praise after the Moroccan impressed against Eddie Howe's side.
"Chelsea have kept clean sheets in their past three games but they also don't score many - they have only found the net once in that time," Sutton told BBC Sport. "West Ham are hardly free-scoring either, so I doubt the goals will be flying in at Saturday lunchtime.
"Aguerd has made a big difference for them at the back, after they had lots of problems in defence when he was injured at the start of the season. Every time I write West Ham off, they get something from the game so the bad news for Hammers fans is that I am going for the points to be shared this time."
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