‘Right to the wire’ – Mark Lawrenson predicts winner in West Ham clash v Chelsea
Mark Lawrenson has predicted that West Ham United will fall to defeat once again when they welcome Chelsea to the London Stadium on Wednesday.
The BBC pundit has backed the Blues to steal all three points with a singular goal in a 1-0 victory in East London.
Another defeat for David Moyes’ men would make it three on the bounce after the Premier League restart, and it would add to their relegation concerns.
Lawrenson has claimed the relegation scrap could go the final day, and the earlier West Ham can start picking up points the better.
“West Ham, in contrast, have lost two out of two and my worry with them is still where their goals are going to come from,” he wrote in his BBC predictions blog.
“It is hard to see them getting anything out of this game but all is not lost – they have got two home games against Watford and Aston Villa in the final fortnight of the season and, the way all of those teams are playing right now, it looks like the relegation battle will go right to the wire.”
One positive that the Hammers can take going into this important game is their extended break in the build-up.
With the FA Cup quarter-finals at the weekend, Chelsea were put through a tough 90 minutes against Leicester whereas the Irons could rest and prepare for the London derby.
Moyes will want his side to counter-attack, just as they did so perfectly in the reverse fixture in the 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, having 14 fewer shots and keeping only 34.3% of the ball according to WhoScored – clinical.
In other West Ham United news, Aaron Cresswell dissects the defeats v Wolves & Spurs while discussing survival hopes