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Horse Racing Chelsea vs West Ham Bet Builder Tips, Opta Stats, Player Props: Chilwell's Chelsea
Chelsea vs West Ham Bet Builder Tips, Opta Stats, Player Props
It’s Chelsea vs West Ham forming part of the Premier League’s Sunday offering on the weekend.
The Blues have won 149 Premier League London derbies and with the Hammers coming to town, they’re aiming to become the second side in the competition to reach 150. Only Arsenal can boast as many capital wins as Chelsea.
Bet Builder odds: 26.00
England, Premier League, 16:30 Sunday 20th August
Odds via 26.00 as at 16th August, 17:00. Odds may now differ
Chelsea vs West Ham Opta Stats: It may be a milestone London derby
- West Ham manager David Moyes has never beaten Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino in the Premier League (0/5).
- Aged 38 years and 325 days against Liverpool last Sunday, Chelsea’s Thiago Silva became the third-oldest outfield player to start a team’s opening match of a Premier League season.
- Chelsea have won just five of their last 30 Premier League matches (D11 L14).
- West Ham ended last season with back-to-back home league wins, beating Manchester United and Leeds United in May.
Chelsea vs West Ham Bet Builder Tips: Chilwell to fly the flag
Over 0.5 West Ham First Half Cards
In an attempt to clamp down on dissent, time-wasting and cynical fouls, Premier League referees have been told to punish offenders more often. This led to an increase in the average cards shown on the opening weekend. West Ham were awarded four yellow cards, despite only making 14 fouls.
The referee of this affair is John Brooks, who has given eight cards in his two games thus far. He’s given two and one card in the first half in these games. Brooks has given an average of 1.5 first-half cards in his last ten competitive games.
Last season in the Premier League, David Moyes’ side averaged two yellow cards per game. With a sold-out London Stadium for a London Derby, expect a fast start from the Hammers.
Over 0.5 Chelsea First Half Cards
Chelsea’s scintillating 1-1 draw at Anfield was the perfect advertisement for the Premier League. It was an end-to-end, relentless game, with seven yellow cards and two disallowed goals. Of these seven yellow cards, three were brandished in the first half. Most of these cards were for dissent or time-wasting, with the new indicative clearly in action.
Last season, Chelsea averaged over two yellows per game, and this average is bound to increase this season. Forty of these cards came away from home. Three of the five televised games saw a first-half card for each team, with Tottenham also picking four in the first half.
Both West Ham and Chelsea picked up a first-half card each last week, and with a card-happy referee and a pumped-up crowd, I anticipate a repeat this weekend.
Chilwell to score
The last leg of the bet builder adds real juice. Ben Chilwell had a shot on target, as well as a disallowed goal in the first half. The back three\five formation deployed by Mauricio Pochettino allowed the left back extra creative freedom, with the 26-year-old often finding himself in shooting positions.
In possession, Levil Colwill filled in at left back, allowing Chilwell to bomb forward. Chilwell has scored five goals in his last 21 starts, so he clearly has a keen eye for goal.
West Ham were also very poor against Bournemouth, allowing the Cherries to have 63% possession as well as 14 attempts at goal. This will encourage Chelsea, who enjoyed 65% of possession against Liverpool.
If Pochettino continues with the back three, Ben Chilwell will fancy his chances of getting on the scoresheet this time and odds of 9.00 for him to do so is a nice price.
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