West Ham vs Chelsea: A top four spot is at stake in London Derby

Topics: TV Schedules, West Ham, Chelsea, English Premier League

London rivals West Ham and Chelsea will duke it out for a vital victory with a Champions League berth in the balance on Saturday, April 24th.

Preview: West Ham vs Chelsea

As things stand, both West Ham and Chelsea are in contention for a Champions League berth. Although the Hammers come into this match off the back of a 3-2 defeat to Newcastle, David Moyes's men sit in fifth spot on 55 points and could move into fourth place if they can beat Chelsea in Saturday's tie. Meanwhile, the Blues ended up dropping two valuable points during a frustrating scoreless stalemate with Brighton recently and thus are also tied on 55 points with West Ham, so the onus will be on Thomas Tuchel's squad to get things right in this weekend's tense London Derby.

Under Tuchel, the Blues are unbeaten in their last nine away matches across all comps. That's an impressive feat, and if they can go one more, they will set a new club record. However, West Ham certainly will be no pushovers, especially as the Hammers have enjoyed more success on home turf against Chelsea as of late. They've won three of their last five meetings with the Blues, and they know they can move into a top four spot with a win on Saturday.

Their home record is especially impressive, as their 31 points are only bettered than Manchester City's 38. Moyes's side are unbeaten in their last five home derbies, with wins in three of them, and certainly, they'll be looking to take advantage of a Chelsea side who have had a dramatic week due to the whole ruckus as a result of the fallout following the European Super League fiasco.

Team news: West Ham vs Chelsea

West Ham: Craig Dawson is banned for this game, while both Declan Rice and Michail Antonio are still on the treatment table. Meanwhile, Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku are major doubts for this game, but on-loan Manchester United man Jesse Lingard should shake off a slight injury here to be able to feature in this crunch tie.

Chelsea: Croatian international Mateo Kovacic will miss this match due to a hamstring injury, but other from that, Thomas Tuchel should have everyone else available.

Match facts: West Ham vs Chelsea

Chelsea are hoping to clinch an eighth league double over West Ham...
...however, the Hammers are unbeaten in their last five home league derbies (W3 D2)
They've also picked up 31 points at home. Only Man City, with 38 points have done better
West Ham have won three of their last five league home matches against Chelsea (D1 L1)...
...which is as many in their last 14 home meetings with the Blues
The last time they won back to back home games against the Blues was in May 2003
Chelsea are unbeaten in all nine of their away games under Thomas Tuchel in all competitions (W7 D2)
If Tuchel can avoid a loss here, he'll be the first manager to go ten unbeaten on the road in all comps in club history