ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - CHELSEA VS WEST HAM UNITED

English Premier

2026-01-31 - Chelsea vs West Ham United

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Chelsea v West Ham United
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 31st January 2025 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV

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Chelsea

Progress to the Knock Out Rounds of the Champions League had already been secured, but Liam Rosenior will be very pleased with his Chelsea players for the second half performance that saw them overturn a 2-1 deficit in a 2-3 win in Naples. That victory has just cleared some of the February schedule by taking Chelsea immediately into the Last 16 of the Champions League and the manager and squad can now focus on domestic matters until March.

That win in Naples is the second important away win secured by Chelsea this past week having won at Selhurst Park last Sunday to move into 5th place in the Premier League table and just a point behind the top four places. The Blues are back at home this weekend where they have a 5-3-3 record in the Premier League.

Chelsea were beaten by Arsenal in the League Cup Semi Final First Leg, but have responded in the right way by winning 4 in a row in all competitions. A couple of those wins have been at home against Brentford and Pafos, but suffice to say Chelsea have not really impressed as much as they have in the away wins produced under Liam Rosenior.

Cole Palmer was available in Naples and the Chelsea squad is looking much healthier right now compared with even two weeks ago.

West Ham United

There was a huge amount of pressure on manager Nuno Espirito Santo a couple of weeks ago and it felt like a matter of time before West Ham United would be forced to make another change at the position. The board have backed Espirito Santo by bringing in new faces in the January transfer window, but the manager needed results and his players have produced those just in time.

For a while it felt like the bottom three would be cut off in the Premier League standings, but a couple of wins have changed the narrative for 18th placed West Ham United. There is still work to with 5 points between The Hammers and safety, but they have momentum and take a 2-4-5 away record across to the other side of London.

West Ham United failed to hold onto a 1-0 lead in the eventual 1-2 home loss to Nottingham Forest and that was the culmination of a run of 5 Premier League defeats in 6 games played. Since that defeat, which felt like a bitter blow at the time, West Ham United have beaten Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup Third Round and, most importantly, won Premier League games against Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland.

Lucas Paqueta has agreed to a move back to his homeland at Flamengo. The remainder of the squad all look set to be available for selection.

Head to Head

West Ham United scored first back in August at the London Stadium, but they were convincingly beaten 1-5 by Chelsea.

The Blues have won 5 in a row at Stamford Bridge against this rival.

Prediction

Back to back away wins and scoring three goals in both victories has to give Chelsea fans plenty of reason to back Liam Rosenior, even if the manager is not the choice of the majority of them.

He is inexperienced at the very top level, but Rosenior has clearly gotten something working at Chelsea and the team have impressed in wins over Crystal Palace and Napoli.

Playing at home is a different obstacle and Chelsea have won 2 in a row here under the new manager, but will admit that they have not been nearly as convincing. They were fortunate to beat Brentford and then huffed and puffed against Pafos in the Champions League, but the squad is looking healthy and Chelsea will be looking to maintain the strong momentum that has been built up.

There is a distraction of the League Cup Semi Final Second Leg coming up, but Chelsea will not be allowed to overlook a long-term rival.

The supporters will be demanding, but Liam Rosenior will also be well aware that West Ham United have turned a corner.

Back to back Premier League games have allowed The Hammers to get that much closer to Leeds United and Nottingham Forest and Nuno Espirito Santo has been backed with new additions in the transfer window. These have just looked to have given West Ham United some quality, but beating Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland is one thing and beating Chelsea another.

In recent years, West Ham United have struggled to match the quality that Chelsea can call upon with 5 straight losses at Stamford Bridge, while they conceded five at home in August in the reverse fixture. That result means Chelsea have beaten West Ham United in 4 matches in a row and there is a feeling that the home team will have a bit too much again.

Of course you cannot ignore the fact that Chelsea played in Naples in a tough match on Wednesday and have this game scheduled for late Saturday afternoon. They have played twice since West Ham United beat Sunderland, but Rosenior has some real depth to call upon and Chelsea can score at least twice in a winning effort.

The Pick :

Chelsea 2-0 West Ham United

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Chelsea to Win & Over 1 Total Goal (Bet Builder) at 1.66 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)