Chelsea will be looking to make it four clean sheets in a row on Saturday as they face a trip to London rivals West Ham United.
After a dismal start to the season, Chelsea seem to have shown some improvement over the last few weeks, with the Blues unbeaten in three and defensively solid. Graham Potter's side drew 0-0 with Fulham in their last outing, with Enzo Fernandez impressing on his debut whilst Reece James returned to the squad.
With Chelsea's new signings starting to settle and key players returning from injury, the Blues could really start to pick up form over the next few weeks. But, their clash with West Ham could prove a tough one, with Potter's side having won just three of their last nine away games against the Hammers in all competitions.
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So, could the Blues pick up three points on Saturday? Let's take a look.
West Ham vs Chelsea score predicted by simulation
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions. Recent form impacts players' ratings in FIFA 23, so the Blues squad was lower-rated than usual heading into this simulation.
We predict that Hammers could set up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Fabianksi; Johnson, Ogbonna, Aguerd; Coufal, Paqueta, Rice, Emerson; Bowen, Benrahma; Antonio.
We predict that the Blues could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Kepa; James, Silva, Badiashile, Cucurella; Gallagher, Fernandez, Mount; Felix, Havertz, Mudryk.
It was a very even start at the London Stadium, with Michail Antonio and Kai Havertz both having great chances to open the scoring early on, but good goalkeeping at either end kept the score level. Chelsea upped the tempo in the final 15 minutes of the half, and they took the lead through Mason Mount.
Enzo Fernandez lifted a pass over the top of the West Ham defence and into the path of Havertz, but a poor first touch saw the German enter a 50/50 with the West Ham 'keeper. Havertz got there first and chipped the ball across goal, and Mount was on hand to meet the cross, heading into the net to make it 1-0.
Just before the break, Havertz made it 2-0 to Chelsea after Lukasz Fabianski passed the ball into the striker's path, allowing him to tap into an empty net. It was a gift from West Ham, and it got even better for the Blues six minutes after the restart when Havertz grabbed his second and Chelsea's third of the game.
Mudryk twisted and turned on the left to skip past his marker and cut inside, with the Ukrainian looking very dangerous all afternoon. The winger spotted Havertz's run and played a pass through for the German, and with the outside of his boot, he fired into the bottom corner of the net to make it 3-0.
With 12 minutes to go, Chelsea were in full control, but West Ham pulled a goal back to make it 3-1 when Danny Ings skipped past Thiago Silva and fired a shot through the legs of Kepa. It could've been a nervy end to the game for the Blues, but a moment of magic from Fernandez settled the score, putting Chelsea 4-1 up with seven minutes remaining.
A corner routine saw Mount go short to Hakim Ziyech, and the Moroccan curled a cross deep into the box for Fernandez to meet. On the turn, the midfielder chested the ball onto his left foot before acrobatically firing towards goal, and his effort looped over the 'keeper, dropping into the far corner of the net.
The cherry on the cake came in the 90th minute when David Datro Fofana and Kai Havertz dispossessed West Ham's last man and broke through two-on-one with Fabianski, and Fofana squared the ball to Havertz for the German to grab his hat-trick and confirm an emphatic victory.
FIFA 23 predicted score: West Ham 1-5 Chelsea
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 23 predicts that Chelsea could run riot at the London Stadium on Saturday, with Kai Havertz at his best as he grabbed three in a 5-1 win. Enzo Fernandez impressed in midfield once again whilst Mason Mount shone in a deeper role against a struggling West Ham side.
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