OPINION
West Ham picked up their first win of the season and will be eager to keep the good times going despite facing an unbeaten Chelsea side on Sunday.
The Hammers host the Blues, who have won all of their first five leagues games, at the London Stadium and Manuel Pellegrini will not want to tinker with his team too much after discovering the winning formula.
Pellegrini’s side may only have three points on the board but they shouldn’t be fazed by playing Chelsea as they do have a very capable squad who could end their rivals’ unbeaten streak if they play to the best of their ability.
However in order to give his side the best chance of a positive result on Sunday, Pellegrini must make two changes to the side that started the game against the Toffees.
For his first change the experienced manager must axe defender Pablo Zabaleta who performed admirably against the Toffees in order to be able to unleash the pacey Ryan Fredericks in the position of right-back.
The 25-year-old may have had some dubious performances this season, with the game against Arsenal arguably his best, but he will be able to match the blistering pace of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard which will hopefully keep him at bay while bursting down the flank to give the Blues a headache.
Fredericks may not have shown the fantastic form he had at Fulham last season but the speed demon is capable of doing a very important job for his side on Sunday.
The other change Pellegrini must look to make, is he needs to drop Mark Noble despite the midfielder having some valuable leadership qualities to offer.
The Hammers veteran was perhaps the worst performer against the Toffees and it’s hard to imagine him having the legs to deal with Chelsea’s high-energy midfield.
Noble’s replacement should be Carlos Sanchez, as while he is no spring chicken himself, he does appear to be more mobile than the Hammers captain and would add an extra bit of steel to the midfield.
The rest of the team that started the game against the Toffees must be kept in tact as all of those players put in the best performances of the season in order to help their side get a result, with Declan Rice, Pedro Obiang and Felipe Anderson particularly standing out.
Also Pellegrini must gamble on the fitness of Arnautovic who is a doubt, as stated by Sky Sports, as his experience will prove vital without Noble and Zabaleta featuring as well as the fact he is head and shoulders above the Hammers’ other attacking options.
