Paul Merson explains his West Ham v Chelsea FC prediction

Paul Merson is tipping Chelsea FC to secure a vital 2-1 victory away to West Ham United on Saturday lunchtime.

The Blues head into the game having won just one of their last five games in the Premier League and in ninth place in the table following a miserable run of form under Graham Potter.

Chelsea FC splashed £300m-plus on new signings in the January transfer window in a bid to bolster their squad and reverse their ailing fortunes, and Blues boss Potter will now be under pressure to turn around the club’s poor form.

The south west Londoners are preparing to take on a West Ham United team who have also only won one of their last five Premier League encounters, with David Moyes’ men currently languishing in 17th place in the top-flight table and just a point above the relegation zone.

Former Arsenal and England star Merson feels that the Blues will have just enough to claim a narrow and important win when they take on the Hammers on Saturday.

Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said: “This is a massive game for both teams. You’d like to think that Chelsea will get better with an extra bit of work this week. They were a bit hit-and-miss last week, and it might take a bit of time for them to get it right with the amount of talent they have.

Arsenal legend Paul Merson (Photo: Sky Sports)

“I thought West Ham played well against Newcastle. When they went down by a goal against Newcastle, I thought it would be a cricket score. They managed to turn it around on the day and could give Chelsea a hard game this week.

“When [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang came on as a substitute and was taken off, that was the end for him at Chelsea. It’s all right when you do it to a youngster but when you do it to an experienced player, there’s no way back. Don’t get me wrong – he’s been an unbelievable player over the years, but he wasn’t what Chelsea needed at the time.

“This is a new Chelsea team, and Graham Potter has not had long to work with them. There are no excuses this weekend – this is a big game for the club and the supporters. We’re in February now, and I can’t tell you Chelsea’s team this weekend – I’d be thrilled if I get seven players right. They’ve had a bit of a stop-start season.

“This is a hard game to call, but I’m going to go with Chelsea. They’ll have Joao Felix back for this game, and they might have too much for West Ham going forward.”

Meanwhile, former Chelsea FC star Sutton is expecting to see the two sides play out a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

Ex-Chelsea FC striker Chris Sutton (Photo: BT Sport)

“Chelsea have kept clean sheets in their past three games but they also don’t score many – they have only found the net once in that time,” Sutton told BBC Sport.

“West Ham are hardly free-scoring either, so I doubt the goals will be flying in at Saturday lunchtime. Like Oli is saying, Aguerd has made a big difference for them at the back, after they had lots of problems in defence when he was injured at the start of the season.

“Every time I write West Ham off, they get something from the game so the bad news for Hammers fans is that I am going for the points to be shared this time.”

After Saturday’s game, Chelsea FC will turn their attentions back towards Champions League affairs, with the Blues travelling to Borussia Dortmund for the first leg of their round of 16 clash, before a home game against Southampton in the Premier League next weekend.