25′ Chelsea head the corner out but West Ham keep the pressure on. It doesn’t work out though and Chelsea try to break. West Ham do well to race back and quell the threat.
24′ Fredericks takes on Azpilicueta and the ball goes out off the Chelsea captain for a West Ham corner. Let’s see what the hosts can make of this.
23′ Christensen is overeager in challenging Soucek for a loose ball and the Dane is penalised. West Ham use this opportunity to push out of their own half for the first time in a while as Fabianski takes the free-kick.
21′ Chelsea are huffing and puffing as Werner’s effort from range deflects out for a corner to the visitors. West Ham handle it but Pulisic gets back in position to regain the ball for Chelsea. West Ham have nowhere to go at the moment.
20′ Mount’s ball into the box is cleared by Coufal. Lingard wins a free-kick near the touchline to relieve the pressure on West Ham.
18′ Chelsea really look like they mean business, racing forward at every opportunity. They know a win here would do their top four hopes a world of good. West Ham have managed to hold firm at the start of this half though.
17′ Jorginho flings a deep cross into the box for Werner who’s beaten to the header. Chelsea come again and Mount is dispossessed in the penalty area.
15′ This game’s been end-to-end so far, although Chelsea are the only team to have had a shot yet. Werner darts down the right-hand channel and finds Pulisic in the box. The American’s shot at Fabianski is tame.
14′ West Ham are looking decent on the break. The hosts spring forward through Fredericks who has free reign down the left flank. Unfortunately Fredericks doesn’t know whether to shoot or cross and ends up doing neither well.
13′ West Ham get a free-kick near the right touchline. Their captain Noble’s delivery into the box is poor and Chelsea clear it without much difficulty.
12′ Chelsea have had 76 per cent possession so far. That’ll suit West Ham just fine as they’re more comfortable on the counter-attack.
11′ West Ham force the first corner of the game down their right. Bowen swings it in with his left foot. Mendy leaps up and catches it easily.
10′ Mount twists and turns to the right of the box, keeping hold of the ball to cut inside on his left foot. The England man takes aim for the bottom left corner but it’s a comfortable save for Fabianski.
9′ Chelsea over-commit forward and West Ham suddenly find themselves three versus two. Bowen slides in Lingard to his left but West Ham’s on-loan talisman is offside.
8′ Werner skips inside and lays off to Mount who carries the ball forward. Chelsea keep possession for a while before Chilwell strays offside.
6′ Chelsea push upfield again but this time West Ham manage to play their way out. The hosts look to counter-attack but can only hand Chelsea a goal-kick.
4′ Mount finds himself in space down the right for Chelsea and cuts back for Werner in the box. The German leans back and blasts an effort way off target. That was a decent opportunity for the visitors.
2′ Chelsea get the positional advantage early on, lofting a cross into West Ham’s box from the right. Their goalkeeper Fabianski is on hand to claim it.
1′ The referee Chris Kavanagh blows his whistle and Chelsea get this vital top-four clash underway!
West Ham and Chelsea are heading out onto the London Stadium pitch as West Ham’s customary bubbles float through the air. Both teams are in their first-choice colours. No away kits needed today!
Despite their injury issues West Ham will believe they can land an important blow on Chelsea, having improved against them of late. The Hammers have won three of their last five home league games against the Blues and are unbeaten in their last five London derbies here at the London Stadium. Only Manchester City have earned more points than them at home this season. That said, Chelsea beat West Ham 3-0 at Stamford Bridge earlier this season and remain unbeaten away from home under Tuchel. Something’s got to give.
West Ham make two changes to the team that fought back unsuccessfully against Newcastle. Their influential centre-back Craig Dawson is suspended so Balbuena comes in, as does Fredericks at left wing-back. They’re still without the likes of Aaron Cresswell, Declan Rice and Michail Antonio. Chelsea make six changes from their midweek draw with Brighton, putting out what looks close to their strongest 11.
SUBS: Reece James, Kai Havertz, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Kurt Zouma, Hakim Ziyech, Tammy Abraham, Billy Gilmour, Marcos Alonso, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
CHELSEA (3-4-3): Edouard Mendy; Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Cesar Azpilicueta (c), N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic.
SUBS: Manuel Lanzini, Said Benrahma, Frederik Alves, Andriy Yarmolenko, Ben Johnson, Ademipo Odubeko, Darren Randolph, Conor Coventry, Nathan Trott.
WEST HAM UNITED (3-4-1-2): Lukasz Fabianski; Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena, Angelo Ogbonna; Vladimir Coufal, Mark Noble (c), Tomas Soucek, Ryan Fredericks; Pablo Fornals; Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen.
Chelsea have no such problems defensively, although they missed the chance to go third midweek after stuttering to a 0-0 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion. With the furore around the Super League now dying down, Thomas Tuchel will want his team to see off an upstart West Ham and cement their fourth-placed position.
This game may prove crucial in deciding whether West Ham and Chelsea finish in the Premier League top four. David Moyes’ fifth-placed Hammers put entertainment ahead of efficiency last time out in a 3-2 defeat to Newcastle United. If West Ham want to make it to the Champions League, now might be the time for them to start tightening up.
Hello! Welcome to our live text commentary of this Premier League clash between West Ham United and Chelsea at the London Stadium.
