West Ham vs. Chelsea London Derby: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Stream, TV Info
His side may have kept back-to-back clean sheets this week, but Jose Mourinho isn't a happy man.
The Chelsea boss expressed his disappointment at perceived media intrusion into his personal life when some Chelsea fans followed and filmed him in London.
Mourinho was asked if he was feeling happy during his weekly press conference, snapping back that he wasn't going to help the media generate headlines anymore.
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"You don't get from me good and funny headlines," said the Chelsea boss. "I'm going to treat your bosses the same way they treat me. No respect, no respect.
"[...] Private life and stupid things that you bring to light, I don't like it. So we go to a different level of professional relationship."
It was a touch frosty, but Mourinho made a very valid point, explaining that he is happy to discuss football matters but his private life should remain that.
True to his word, the Chelsea boss was open when discussing his team.
The past week has been a positive one for Chelsea. They may have only won one of their two games—they beat Aston Villa 2-0 before drawing 0-0 with Dynamo Kiev—but both were their best performances of the season.
Chelsea have looked solid again, looking less frail than the team that has shipped 16 Premier League goals in nine games.
"For me I don't go to the crisis direction. I go match after match—no more than that," he explained.
"Both clean sheets [were] based on good team work. I try to make the best decisions for the team, I analyse what I think the game can be, I try to reduce the unpredictability of every match.
"You are right, this is not about defenders, it's about the team as a team and they defended well in both our last matches."
It's a start, but unlike mid-September when victory over Arsenal proved a false dawn, Chelsea must build on their good form at Upton Park where they face West Ham United.
For the first time in a long while, the Hammers are seen as slight favourites in this fixture given their recent performances. They are also above Chelsea in the table, sitting fourth with a six-point cushion on the reigning champions.
Chelsea need to forget chasing Manchester City for now, it's the likes of West Ham they need to be targeting as they attempt to climb the table and get themselves in the top four.
That starts on Saturday.
Date: Saturday, October 24
Time: 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET
Venue: Upton Park, London
TV Info: Match of the Day (BBC1, 10.30pm)/NBC Sports (U.S. only)
Live Stream: No UK live stream/NBCSN (U.S. only)
Last 5 games
| Sept. 19 | Manchester City 1-2 West Ham United |
| Sept. 22 | Leicester City 2-1 West Ham United (AET) |
| Sept. 26 | West Ham United 2-2 Norwich City |
| Oct. 3 | Sunderland 2-2 West Ham United |
| Oct. 17 | Crystal Palace 1-3 West Ham United |
| Sept. 26 | Newcastle United 2-2 Chelsea |
| Sept. 29 | Porto 2-1 Chelsea |
| Oct. 3 | Chelsea 1-3 Southampton |
| Oct. 16 | Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa |
| Oct 20 | Dynamo Kiev 0-0 Chelsea |
Predicted lineups
Chelsea have no new injury concerns after their midweek trip to Ukraine in the Champions League, meaning their only absentees for the trip across London will be Thibaut Courtois (knee) and Branislav Ivanovic (hamstring).
Pedro and Loic Remy missed out against Dynamo Kiev but should at least make the bench.
As for West Ham, Victor Moses can't play against parent club Chelsea, while Winston Reid (hip), Alex Song (ankle) and Joey O'Brien (calf) are all sidelined.
West Ham United (4-1-4-1): Adrian; Jenkinson, Collins, Tomkins, Cresswell; Kouyate; Zarate, Noble, Lanzini, Payet; Sakho
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Zouma, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Ramires; Willian, Fabregas, Pedro; Diego Costa.
Key Players
Dimitri Payet
It's a mystery why Dimitri Payet wasn't the subject of a transfer battle this summer.
With so many big names arriving in the Premier League, the Frenchman's capture from Marseille seemed to slip under the radar.
Well, after scoring four Premier League goals and assisting a further three for his team-mates, we're all talking about Payet now.
He is the creative force in this West Ham team, proving a major factor in the Hammers' impressive start to the season.
Stop him and Chelsea have a good chance of stopping West Ham in their tracks.
Nemanja Matic
It's been a tough season for Chelsea's Serbian midfielder. He's been dropped from the starting lineup by Jose Mourinho at times and, during the 3-1 loss to Southampton earlier this month, was subbed after just 28 minutes of coming as a substitute himself.
This past week or so has seen Matic show signs of coming back to his best, however.
Like the rest of his team-mates, Matic still has plenty more to prove, but it's no coincidence that Chelsea have kept back-to-back clean sheets this week with Matic finding his best form of the season.
If the Serbian plays like he did against Dynamo Kiev in midweek, expect West Ham to struggle breaking Chelsea down.
Prediction
West Ham United 0-1 Chelsea
Odds
Home Win: +320
Away Win: -118
Draw: +250
First Goalscorer: Diego Costa(4/1)
*Odds via Odds Shark and Oddschecker
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
