Chelsea v West Ham United Betting Tip

Both teams are in somewhat new territory going into this season. Chelsea do not have the ‘distraction’ of European football for the first time since 1996 whilst West Ham are under pressure to improve on their excellent 7th place finish last campaign.

Former Italy manager Antonio Conte is now in charge at Stamford Bridge and it will be interesting to see what style he brings to the Premier League. He has generally used three central defenders and two wingbacks throughout his career – very Italian, whether this tactic will work in the much faster Premier League remains to be seen.

Chelsea’s most significant signing is Leicester City’s title winner N’Golo Kante. The France international was one of the Foxes best players last season and will add a new dynamic to a central midfield which has lacked top quality in the last couple of seasons.

Belgium forward Michy Batshuayi arrives from Marseille to provide decent competition for Diego Costa up front who perhaps got a bit complacent last season knowing he only had to hold off Loic Remy’s impotent challenge for a regular starting spot.

Slaven Bilic brought exciting football and charisma to West Ham last season and seems the perfect man to take them into the next chapter of their life as a club – the move to the Olympic Stadium being the foundation of this.

There does not seem to be any reason why they cannot repeat last year’s feat as they have kept hold of the spine in their team. Additionally, they have added quality by bringing in Andre Ayew from Swansea and signed Manuel Lanzini on a permanent deal after a successful loan spell last season.

West Ham may find themselves under a lot of pressure in this game as Chelsea manager Conte is a man who prides himself on the hard work as well as instills discipline into his teams. However, West Ham do carry a threat of their own and are more than capable of causing an upset – a Chelsea win is by no means a guarantee. With this in mind I would back ‘Both Teams To Score’.

Dmitri Payet had an excellent Euro 2016 and must feel on top of the world right now. Even if West Ham find themselves under the cosh in this game, as previously mentioned, he is the sort of player who can produce something from nothing. Odds on him to score anytime are very favourable at 4/1.

See the rest of today’s tips here.