West Ham v Chelsea: Bowen can land 10/1 Bet Builder | OneFootball

West Ham have air of early-season crisis club

If there were some feelings of unease in the West Ham faithful going into the new season, they were fully realised on opening weekend as the Hammers crashed to defeat at Sunderland. Not just a 1-0 loss, a 3-0 loss. Against a newly-promoted team.

Graham Potter was already coming under fire but now he's firmly in the crosshairs to become the Next Manager to Leave even though West Ham don't typically rush to sack the man in charge.

A home game against the Club World Champions looks a recipe for further grief and it's very easy to imagine the atmosphere turning sour if things don't go West Ham's way early on. Patience is wearing thin among the Hammers faithful as they haven't seen their side win at home since February.

Chelsea did the double over West Ham last year, winning this fixture 3-0. Over the last three meetings between the pair, the Blues have won by an aggregate of 10-1.

If this is the next instalment of more West Ham woe, their current relegation price of 5/2 will likely be clipped further.

Chelsea off to a slow start

Chelsea looked sluggish in their opener against Crystal Palace and the main talking point was Eberechi Eze's disallowed free-kick which could have given the Eagles an early lead.

The hosts managed just three shots on target and that was despite a forward line (when including starters and subs) that added up to nearly £250million.

Perhaps boss Enzo Maresca tried to blood too many players at once although it has to be said that it can a recurring fault of Chelsea's to get bogged down and spend too much time going sideways.

It's still hard to get a real handle on how good the Blues are or can be although one guide is that they're odds-on at [8/11] for a Top 4 Finish this season.

Blues hot favourites

Chelsea are clear 4/6 favourites to win this London derby, while the SBK market shows West Ham at 4/1 and The Draw 3/1.

Despite the loss of central defender Levi Colwill to a long-term injury, Maresca's men are solid at the back and, in all competitions, they've kept clean sheets in eight of their last 12 matches. That includes three on the spin in the Premier League if taking into account the last two games of the previous campaign.

That brings into play Chelsea winning with a shutout at 15/8 and perhaps some correct score bets too. If Chelsea can beat Champions League winners PSG 3-0, it's easy to think that they can inflict that same scoreline on West Ham. It's on offer at 11/1 and, as mentioned, landed in this fixture last season.

However, this may not be as straightforward as some think as I'll explain...

Bowen can offer home cheer

West Ham managed just 46 goals in the Premier League last season but they at least had a shining star in Jarrod Bowen.

The England man netted in the final four home games of the campaign and, earlier, also put the Hammers 1-0 up at Stamford Bridge before Chelsea hit back to win.

I like him here at 13/5 to score anytime but, here's the twist, I think that can help West Ham grab what could be an unexpected result.

Although Chelsea won 3-0 at the London Stadium last season, that was with Julen Lopetegui in charge of the hosts. In West Ham's one game against the Blues under Potter, they were unlucky to lose 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

West Ham have been competitive under Potter and that's why the 3-0 defeat at Sunderland was a shock. Prior to that they hadn't lost by more than a single goal since January.

I also quite like the narrative that Chelsea could experience a slight hangover on the back of their Club World Cup win. I expect them to find a groove sooner rather than later but this could be a chance to oppose them.

And I'll also play Bowen to score and West Ham (+1) at around 4/1. That landed in five of their final eight games of last season.

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