On Sunday, the supporters of Stamford Bridge will witness their second Premier League London derby in a week as Chelsea takes on West Ham United, another team vying for a spot in Europe.

In Thursday’s match in the capital, the Blues defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 on merit, while the Irons have had a week to digest a tense 2-2 draw against Liverpool at home.

Chelsea were the most recent team in a long series of teams to attack the Lilywhites’ limitations from set-pieces, striking either side of the half-time whistle from a free-kick scenario, matching an all-time club record by completing their 10th Premier League double over Tottenham.

First, despite wearing two white jerseys, Trevoh Chalobah was given free rein to race forward, meet Conor Gallagher’s lovely delivery, and head goal into the top corner. Next, Cole Palmer’s powerful effort hit the crossbar, and Nicolas Jackson nodded in the rebound.

Despite having a crippling 14-man injury list that reduced Mauricio Pochettino to a virtually empty roster when it came to senior players available for selection, the Blues dominated the entire 90 minutes against the Argentine’s former club, spectacularly ending a three-game losing streak.

Thanks to their midweek success, the Blues have moved up to eighth place in the table, leapfrogging their opponents West Ham. In the fierce competition for European qualification, they trail Manchester United by three points and Newcastle United by two.

Chelsea has defeated their prior Stamford Bridge demons once again, winning six of their last seven games at home in West London in all competitions. They have also kept a clean sheet in their last two games and scored multiple goals in each of those games.

Chelsea has improved their European credentials in midweek. Now, they can increase their chances of finishing in the top seven while hurting West Ham’s hopes of qualifying for the redesigned continental tournaments in 2024–2025. This is a scenario that the form book indicates is very likely to occur on Sunday.

David Moyes’s team, who has only won once in their past nine games and has lost their last five domestic and continental games, was not inspired by their Europa League exit against undefeated Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Despite their impressive performance last week against struggling title contenders Liverpool—Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio forcing a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium—the Irons are stuck in ninth place, two points behind Chelsea despite having played one more game. Their fate in Europe is beyond their control.

Even though West Ham’s journey to the Etihad to play Manchester City on the last day of the season is not the most difficult away game left on their schedule for 2023–24, they still haven’t kept a clean sheet in the Premier League on the road in 2024, with their most recent victory coming against Arsenal in December.

Though the last three matches at Stamford Bridge have gone in favour of the hosts, the Europa Conference League winners defeated Chelsea 3-1 when they came to the London Stadium in August, and they might potentially accomplish just their third Premier League double over the Blues.

Young right-back Alfie Gilchrist hobbled off with the physio near the conclusion of Chelsea’s victory over Tottenham, allowing 17-year-old Josh Acheampong—who turns 18 on Sunday—to make his first-team debut. Chelsea’s 14-man injury list might very well increase to 15 ahead of Sunday.

Although Gilchrist’s unidentified problem might not be more serious than cramps, Chelsea disclosed that Christopher Nkunku (thigh) and Levi Colwill (toe) had returned to squad training before Thursday’s match, but neither player was included in the starting lineup.

Enzo Fernandez (hernia), Wesley Fofana (knee), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Lesley Ugochukwu (thigh), Reece James (thigh), Raheem Sterling (back), Malo Gusto (knee), Ben Chilwell (knee), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee), Thiago Silva (groyne), and Robert Sanchez (unspecified) are undoubtedly unavailable on Sunday. (The same goes for knock victim Axel Disasi as well).

On the other hand, West Ham manager Moyes only has to deal with the injuries of three players, and there’s a potential that all three of them will recover in time to play at Stamford Bridge.

While Dinos Mavropanos (knock) and Nayef Aguerd (ankle) are fighting to recover in time for the derby, George Earthy may be cleared from concussion protocol this weekend due to his harrowing clash of heads that did not result in any significant injuries.

Mavropanos and Aguerd are potential replacements for Angelo Ogbonna. Moyes bravely benched James Ward-Prowse against Liverpool, so it’s possible he won’t need to call up the former Southampton player given his outstanding free-kick victory for the Saints at Stamford Bridge the previous season.

Potential starting lineup for Chelsea: Petrovic; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson; Gilchrist, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo

Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Mavropanos, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio might be West Ham United’s starting lineup.

We declare: West Ham United 2-1 Chelsea

Chelsea’s heroics on Thursday against injury-related hardship were impressive, and their habit of scoring many goals at home against a West Ham team that hasn’t kept a clean sheet in fifteen Premier League games shouldn’t end.

Though their tired 11 players might be playing through discomfort, Moyes’s rejuvenated team should have a little more success in front of goal than a lifeless Tottenham had on Thursday. Nevertheless, we give the home team the advantage in this match.