Changing Formation Could Help Chelsea End West Ham Hoodoo

West Ham are probably the worst opponent Chelsea could have been dealt for Monday's Premier League game.

The Blues are on a run of two consecutive losses, and their inability to beat another team in the top ten is also under scrutiny. There's real pressure on manager Frank Lampard, as well as first-team stars like Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.

In West Ham, Chelsea will face the side currently sat in tenth, who have avoided defeat against the Blues in seven of their last eight meetings and who will come into Monday's game as underdogs - three things Chelsea really hate dealing with.

Chelsea's only win in their last eight meetings with West Ham came in April 2019 when, surprise surprise, they were led to victory by two goals from Eden Hazard. Before that, you have to go back to March 2017, when Hazard joined Diego Costa on the score sheet as Antonio Conte's Blues roared to a comfortable victory.

West Ham did the double over Frank Lampard side last year, despite having two different managers for the two games. They should have been in turmoil, but could still find a way past. West Ham are the definition of a bogey team.

There's real pressure on the Blues heading into the game, but Chelsea still have what it takes to put an end to their recent misery against the Hammers.

David Moyes' 5-4-1 formation allows his side to set up solidly at the back with a view to flying forward on the counter. That's the technique they usually employ when facing the so-called 'bigger' sides, which will challenge the Blues to find other ways to create space.

While Lampard will task his creative forwards - Werner, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Havertz - to try and pass their way through the defence, there's a good chance they'll have to get scrappy in search of goals, and that usually means crosses.

Ben Chilwell and Cesar Azpilicueta will likely aim plenty of crosses into the West Ham box, but to maximise their effectiveness, Chelsea may need to line up with two strikers again.

In Olivier Giroud, Chelsea possess one of the best target men out there, but even he will struggle against three central defenders. There's only so much he can do by himself, but if you add Werner to the mix up there, things start to look a little different.

Werner rose to stardom last season in the sidekick role alongside Yussuf Poulsen at RB Leipzig, and there's no reason to believe he couldn't replicate that with Giroud by his side.

The two presences in the box would force at least one of West Ham's centre-backs to ignore Giroud, which would boost the Frenchman's chances of getting his head on a cross from Chilwell or Azpilicueta, and you could even make it three presences if Havertz lines up behind as a number ten.

Giroud will obviously still be the main target, but the aerial prowess of the 6'2 Havertz cannot be ignored by any defence, and neither can Werner's ability to find space from knock-down balls. They'll all need marking, which will reduce West Ham's ability to neutralise Giroud.

Even if crossing does not work, the front trio would at least offer up more passing options. Havertz can roam around in the space between West Ham's midfield and defence and link things together, with both Giroud and Werner giving him targets to aim for.

Lampard has rarely shied away from changing his system to neutralise specific opponents, but most of his adjustments have come at the back. The boss has been so focused on trying to stop conceding that scoring goals almost becomes an afterthought (a justifiable response to some catastrophic performances last year), but it's time to get a little more adventurous.

Not only could it be the shift needed to seal a win against West Ham, but it could be what brings the best out of Werner and Havertz, both of whom have moved into the spotlight for a series of underwhelming performances.

Truthfully, neither have been playing in their favoured roles. Werner is a striker, not a winger, and Havertz is a ten, not an eight. With both players in need of more confidence, letting them do what they do best may be the way forward.

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