Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson doesn’t expect West Ham to come away from Stamford Bridge with any points on Sunday afternoon.

The Hammers take on Chelsea knowing that a victory is essential if they are to keep their slim hopes of European qualification alive but, writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson says he can only see this London derby going one way:

“West Ham played well against Liverpool, but the Reds missed chance after chance and were made to pay. The Hammers are going nowhere in the league and will want their season to finish as soon as possible. They don’t have much to play for, so I can see Chelsea getting a result here.”

Merson has predicted a 3-1 win victory for Chelsea, which seems a bit harsh on David Moyes’ side who should be able to cause the weakened opposition some problems.

Injury-ravaged Chelsea could be running on empty

It shouldn’t be forgotten that this weekend’s opponents have no less than 14 players out with injuries at the moment. Manager Mauricio Pochettino has been forced into starting academy players.

Admittedly, the Blues did perform very well against Tottenham on Thursday evening but they will only have a few days to prepare for the West Ham fixture, and they won’t be able to rotate their team. The Irons, meanwhile, have had an eight-day break which should give them a fitness advantage.

West Ham’s away record

Moyes’ men have won 7 of their 17 away fixtures this season, which gives them their 7th-best record on the road. In contrast, Chelsea haven’t exactly been perfect on their own turf, having drawn 4 and lost 4 of their 17 home matches.

Considering that Pochettino’s team have conceded 25 goals in those games too, you would think that the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Mohammed Kudus could get some joy against their defence, especially as they are not at full strength.