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Moises Caicedo and Benoit Badiashile drop early Chelsea team news hint as two return for West Ham

Christopher Nkunku and Jimi Tauriainen of Chelsea during a training session at Chelsea Training Ground on May 1, 2024


Moises Caicedo and Benoit Badiashile have dropped an early team news hint ahead of Chelsea's clash against West Ham. The Blues welcome David Moyes' side to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, knowing a win could see them finish the weekend in seventh.

Chelsea will be determined to extend their unbeaten streak following a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday evening. The west London outfit have recently climbed into eighth place as Mauricio Pochettino plots a late – and certainly ambitious – bid for Europa League qualification.

The Blues are only five points behind Newcastle United, who are sixth. As for the Hammers, they're also looking to climb the table after picking up just three wins from their last 10 Premier League games.

Nevertheless, Caicedo and Badiashile have both posted pre-match graphic previews of the West Ham fixture to their respective Instagram stories. Historically, this suggests that they will be involved in some capacity.

The duo could very well be joined by Christopher Nkunku and Levi Colwill too, who have been sidelined for a while now due to injury. Speaking to reporters ahead of the London derby, Pochettino was asked to provide an update.

"It's a good thing that the players need to arrive from injury feeling that they need to make the effort. It's not because you are a big name, you have pride to come here and go to play in the way that you want.

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"The most important thing we can learn today is that it is not about quality because when you are at Chelsea, assume you have the quality. But the most important thing is that you go and work for the team. Play giving your best and stay at your best.

"If you go there and you don't compete, or your level is only 50%, I think it is better that someone with less quality, maybe younger, but competing at their best 100%. It happened during the season that maybe we have had lack of some type of player at their best to compete and get the results that we deserve.

"I say when you come back from injury you need time to build your condition and be at your best. Always because of different circumstances, setbacks, always we've never had the whole team at its best. That is the difficult thing we have been displaying. That is why we have been inconsistent during the whole season."

With that being said, Pochettino will be relying on the likes of Caicedo and Badiashile to step up as race for Europe builds a head of steam. While a few players have posted pre-match previews of the West Ham fixture to their Instagram stories, it does not necessarily mean they will start.