West Ham v Chelsea

Matchday two of the 2025/26 Premier League season kicks off on Friday night with an under-pressure West Ham taking on Chelsea at the London Stadium.

The Hammers were spanked 3-0 by Sunderland on opening day, sending boss Graham Potter into pole position to be the PL’s first managerial casualty of the season, but what better way to bounce back from such a thrashing than beating an old nemesis from across the capital?

The Blues will no doubt fancy a demolition job of their own after seeing the Eastenders humbled at the Stadium Of Light, though their pre-season title aspirations were already dented by a 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace.

After diving into the West Ham v Chelsea betting markets, PP News football tipster Football tipster Shane O’Brien has put together a fab Friday night Bet Builder, which, as always, is covered by Paddy’s Super Sub, so if your player pick goes off, your bet carries over to his replacement.

West Ham v Chelsea Bet Builder Tips

Chelsea to win

Both teams to score: No

Cole Palmer 2+ Shots on target

Over 4.5 cards

A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 15/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.

WHEN: Friday, August, 22nd, 8pm (UK)

WHERE: The London Stadium, London

TV: Sky Sports Main Event/Premier League

Chelsea to win

Both Chelsea and West Ham will be hoping to forget the opening day of the season in a hurry – for different reasons.

West Ham’s comprehensive defeat at Sunderland will have done nothing to ease fears that the Hammers have not sufficiently strengthened in the summer, especially given the loss of Mohammed Kudus to Spurs.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s opening result came as something of an unpleasant surprise, and just a week after comfortably overcoming Milan and Leverkusen, they looked a ponderous shadow of the side that romped home in the Club World Cup final.

However, Chelsea’s draw was obviously far less concerning than West Ham’s defeat, and Enzo Maresca’s side should be confident of claiming their first win of the season on Friday night, especially after beating West Ham in each of their last three encounters.

Both teams to score: No

Chelsea did not look like breaking down a well-organised Crystal Palace defence on Sunday, but they also didn’t really look like conceding outside of Eberechi Eze’s harshly disallowed freekick, and that was hardly a gilt-edged chance.

They looked equally impregnable in their 3-0 victory over PSG in the Club World Cup final, standing firm against what has undoubtedly been the best attacking force in the world in 2025.

West Ham, on the other hand, rarely came close to troubling Sunderland outside of some bright moments early on. They look short of ideas all over the pitch and will struggle to break down a disciplined Chelsea defence.

Cole Palmer 2+ Shots on target

Cole Palmer lit up the Club World Cup final with two exquisite finishes and a glorious assist in a dazzling first-half display.

However, his performance against Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season was more emblematic of his performances during the second half of the 2024/25 season.

Palmer had scored just three times in 18 league games prior to Sunday’s league opener and failed to arrest that poor run of form against Palace, with four shots that all went off target.

He is likely to attempt a similar number of shots on Friday and could very easily find the target at least twice against a vulnerable West Ham defence.

Over 4.5 cards

Chelsea and West Ham’s opening day differed considerably in terms of discipline, with Chelsea and Palace sharing five cards and West Ham and Sunderland sharing just the one.

That difference begins to make more sense when you consider that Chelsea received the most cards in the league last season, picking up 100 cards across the 38-game season – a full 23 more than West Ham.

But the Hammers were no angels either, receiving 77 cards across the season, equating to just over two per game.

On top of that, the last two London Stadium meetings have each produced 6+ cards, further adding to the belief that the referee will have a busy night.

Speaking of the man in the middle, Michael Oliver is also known for being a bit card happy, having dished out a league-high 113 yellow cards last term, at an average of 4.35 per game.

He also showed a joint-second highest tally of five red cards last term.

West Ham v Chelsea Bet Builder Tips

Chelsea to win

Both teams to score: No

Cole Palmer 2+ Shots on target

Over 4.5 cards

A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 15/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.

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