- Live updates from the 8pm BST kick-off at Stamford Bridge
- Sarri unhappy at Premier League’s lack of fixture flexibility
- The Fiver: Barry Glendenning previews the big game
- And why not email Jacob or tweet @JacobSteinberg
Pre-match reading
Related: Maurizio Sarri unhappy with lack of fixture flexibility from Premier League
Hello. Funny old season Chelsea are having. Maurizio Sarri has seemed to be on the verge of the sack since the middle of January, they’ve had the Kepa Arrizabalaga farce at Wembley and the fans have been mutinous for months. They’re nowhere near the title race, they’ve been walloped by Arsenal, Bournemouth, Manchester City, and Eden Hazard looks increasingly likely to join Real Madrid at the end of the season – when, unless they win their appeal, they’ll be serving a transfer ban. Sixteen years after the arrival of Roman Abramovich ushered in an era of unprecedented era of success at Chelsea, these are uncertain times at Stamford Bridge.
But it’s not all bad. After all Chelsea could yet end the season with a trophy – they really should win their Europa League quarter-final against Slavia Prague – and are still in the hunt for a place in the top four. Sarri remains under intense scrutiny, but he’s showing just about enough to stay in the job. There’s no sign of the players downing tools on him at the moment, for all that some performances have left much to be desired, and Chelsea will move level on points with fourth-placed Arsenal if they win this London derby against West Ham.
Written by Jacob Steinberg
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/live/2019/apr/08/chelsea-v-west-ham-premier-league-live under the title “Chelsea v West Ham: Premier League – live!”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
