Chelsea v West Ham United, Sunday, Sky Sports 1, 4:00pm
December 13, 2008 by Ben Filed under: Football
Chelsea successfully came through a potentially nervous night on Tuesday night as they qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League thanks to a 2-1 victory over CFR Cluj. Despite taking the lead through Salomon Kalou shortly before half time, they were never at their best, and this was demonstrated as Yussouf Kone headed an equaliser to put the Blues on the brink of elimination. However, the introduction of Didier Drogba proved vital as he scored the winner 20 minutes from time to seal the blues’ place in the next round.
They will be looking to capitalise on any mistakes Liverpool may make this weekend when they welcome West Ham to Stamford Bridge, and the first return of Gianfranco Zola since his time in a Chelsea shirt. The little Italian will be aiming to get one over on his old side as the Hammers look to bounce back from last weeks 2-0 defeat to Spurs. Prior to that they had been on a three match unbeaten run, which included a win at Sunderland and holding league leaders Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield. Last weeks defeat leaves them fifth from bottom, just three points outside of the drop zone, and they will need to be at their best defensively if they hope to take anything from Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are 1/4 with Centrebet to win another three points towards their Premiership challenge, while West Ham are 14/1 at VCbet to celebrate Gianfranco Zola’s return to Stamford Bridge with a win.
