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That Hammers team: Jarrod Bowen plays for the first time since fracturing his foot. Lucas Paqueta is out. Bowen will be skipper.
Ian Melven gets in touch: “I see Potter has gone with the lesser-spotted 1-2-2-2-2-1 formation for West Ham. Innovative stuff.”
Here’s the man in the frame tonight. Not a natural headline-maker but so much to prove to Chelsea.
There were 21 months between Chelsea ditching Potter and West Ham turning to him. The 49-year-old has arrived at the London Stadium at a difficult time. West Ham erred in appointing Julen Lopetegui last summer and an announcement is due on parting company with their overhyped technical director, Tim Steidten, who played a sorry part in creating a squad lacking in depth and pace.
Sanchez dropped by Chelsea
Big news there: Robert Sanchez dropped for Filip Jorgensen in the Chelsea goal. Christopher Nkunku is on the bench despite all the transfer speculation. Tosin in for Chalobah.
Three at the back for the Hammers, Max Kilman as the sole centre=half by trade. Andy Irving, a regular sub, something of a mystery, gets his first ever start.
The teams
Chelsea: Jorgensen, James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson. Subs: Sanchez, Chalobah, Acheampong, Gusto, Dewsbury-Hall, George, Neto, Nkunku, Guiu.
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Coufal, Kilman, Cresswell, Emerson, Soucek, Irving, Soler, Bowen, Kudus. Subs: Fabianski, Foderingham, Mavropanos, Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Casey, Scarles, Orford.
Preamble
Once he got back into football management, Graham Potter didn’t have to wait long to return to Stamford Bridge, a place he departed with many a cross word from fans. “If you look at the xG of the goal, it’s not that big a chance,” he said of the John McGinn goal for Aston Villa that did for him in April 2023. It became an epitaph for a manager too technocratic for the Chelsea soap opera. Does such a label attach itself to Enzo Maresca? Quite possibly, the positive signs of a bright start have faded. Some bad results have moved the dial. Like losing at Ipswich, for example.
G-Pott, as nobody sensible calls him, will know well enough the feeling. Now he’s the safe pair of hands at West Ham, who have steadied after Julen Lopetegui’s ill-fated regime was ended. The Hammers always do better with a sold type – Ron Greenwood, John Lyall and, yes, David Moyes. Given time, he could do a fine job. Will it start by snotting the Chels? Why not? It’s what we’re here to see.
Join me. The kick-off’s at 8pm. The transfer news is here, if you are so inclined.
