West Ham centre-back Kurt Zouma is hoping to make life as difficult as possible for his former team when the Hammers host Chelsea this afternoon.

The 26-year-old claims it will be a significant moment when he lines up against the Blues, after having played for the club for over seven years:

“It will feel special in a way because I’ve been there for so many years.  I want to beat Chelsea because I want to beat everybody. I play for West Ham now and I’m very happy to be here. It’s going to be a tough game as we know they have a lot of strength, but we have to use our strength to make them suffer.”

Zouma goes on to say that he firmly believes that his current club can beat anyone in the top four so he is clearly in a bullish mood heading into the London derby.

He could be going up against Romelu Lukaku, with the Belgian international having fully recovered from an ankle injury. That is certainly a one-on-one battle to look out for.

In the wider context, West Ham will be very keen to get back to winning ways after suffering recent setbacks against Wolves, Manchester City and Brighton. Securing a victory against the league leaders would be just the confidence boost they need heading into a busy festive period.