Thomas Tuchel is expecting West Ham United to give his Chelsea side a tough test on Saturday afternoon, telling Football London that their ‘discipline’ and ‘counter-attacking’ prowess makes the Hammers a fearsome opponent.
Who would have though that, ahead of a late-April meeting between two London neighbours, Chelsea and West Ham would be neck and neck in the Premier League table?
A win for David Moyes’ surprise packages at the London Stadium would see them leapfrog their blue-clad rivals into the top four spots too, with just five games remaining.
Despite the injury-enforced absences of Declan Rice and Michail Antonio, not to mention Craig Dawon’s suspension, Tuchel is not taking one of the division’s most well-drilled and well-coached sides lightly.
“I expect from them that they fight in a sporting way to be in the top four. They have had an extraordinary season,” the former PSG and Dortmund boss said.
“We expect a tough match. West Ham are a team that is very strong, relies on counter-attacks, relies on their solidarity and discipline in defence, which is the basis for (a) very dangerous counter-attacking side, which they are.
“They are relying on set-pieces which is a real threat. So the challenge is clear.
“We have to control the match, reduce ball losses, close the spaces intelligently before counter-attacks can start, and give away as few set-pieces as possible.
“That’s the plan. There are a lot of things to do and it’s a big challenge tomorrow.”
In their last four matches, West Ham have scored and conceded a remarkable 21 times.
It remains to be seen whether such a run can continue against a Chelsea side who (that West Brom debacle aside) have swapped the end-to-end basketball of Frank Lampard for Tuchel’s 3D chess.
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