Chelsea vs West Ham United Live Streams and TV Channels

Setanta Sports Canada

Fox Soccer Plus

Fox Sports Basico

Fox Sports Premium

Chelsea vs West Ham United Match Preview

Chelsea’s place at the top of the Premier League table has been usurped by rivals Manchester United. At least temporarily. The Blues now share second place points with London rivals Arsenal, but they have a game in hand going into this weekend’s derby against West Ham.

Although Chelsea beat Stoke City in FA Cup action last weekend, Carlo Ancelotti and his men found themselves on the losing end of their two preceding matches: a Champions League tie away to Inter Milan followed by a league match at home to Manchester City.

Quality play from both Inter and City certainly forced Chelsea onto their back heels. But media scrutiny over the sexual shenanigans of England international defenders and fellow lotharios John Terry and Ashley Cole may have played its part. Injuries, too, are taking a toll, however.

Cech’s injury a consequential one

Goalkeeper Petr Cech sustained a calf injury in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg match against Inter at the San Siro. Unfortunately for the Blues, Cech may be out for the season.

Cech’s replacement? Hilario.

But it’s no laughing matter! The 2-4 loss to Manchester City was partly the result of Hilario’s poor positional sense, which allowed Tevez to score a soft goal in the first half and Bellamy to score from a tight angle in the second.

Chelsea face other injury concerns going into the West Ham encounter

Influential Ghanaian international midfielder Michael Essien suffered a knee injury in January while training for the African Nations Cup. He’s listed as doubtful. Portuguese international defender Ricardo Carvalho has a thigh injury. He’s doubtful too. Russian midfielder Yuri Zhirkov has a calf injury. He’s doubtful too. Portuguese midfielder Jose Bosingwa is out for the season with a knee injury. And England international lothario Ashley Cole is out for the season after breaking his ankle against Everton.

John Terry, on the other hand, seems to be bouncing back from the pressure of the media scrutiny of his not-so-private life. He had some shaky performances during the height of the scandal but he scored against Stoke last weekend in the 2-0 FA Cup victory over the Potters.

Yet Chelsea’s shortcomings at the back, in particular an occasional and conspicuous frailty in defense of set pieces, are likely to be an area of potential exploitation for opposing sides like this weekend’s foes, West Ham.

For West Ham an opportunity to take on an injury-riddled Chelsea might normally seem a delightful prospect. But the Hammers have injury problems of their own.

West Ham Injuries

Injuries to Congolese defender Ilunga, Scottish defender Calum Davenport, Portuguese midfielder Luis Boa Morte, South African striker Benni McCarthy and Jamaican Striker Zavon Hines will limit manager Gianfranco Zola’s squad choices.

The timing couldn’t be much worse for West Ham. Facing Chelsea this weekend and Arsenal next week Zola will need to pull out all the stops as he and his squad try to avoid relegation. Despite his team’s dismal season Zola can find some reason for optimism as the two big derby matches loom.

"They are big, big teams and big games. No-one is expecting anything from us but football is strange,'' said Zola. "Last year, we got a point in both games so I am not going to go there already beaten because I know football can have surprises.''

In future weeks the Hammers’ will face fellow strugglers Wolves and Wigan. Those matches could prove decisive in the relegation battle, so winning points against Chelsea this weekend or Arsenal next would be a little like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to Gianfranco Zola. And perhaps just as elusive.

Chelsea vs West Ham United Videos