David Gold makes prediction ahead of West Ham trip to Chelsea
By Tom Blackburn
West Ham chairman David Gold revealed he is confident his team can get something from their Premier League opener against Chelsea on Monday night.
Gold took to Twitter on Monday evening to say he recognised Stamford Bridge was a "tough" place to visit but fancied his team to at least share the points.
West Ham were unbeaten in the two league meetings with Chelsea last year, winning 2-1 at home and drawing 2-2 away due only to a late Cesc Fabregas penalty.
Despite a poor finish to the 2015-16 season they secured a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League and a place in the Europa League qualifying rounds, finishing three spots ahead of Chelsea in the table.
The Hammers have been given a boost ahead of the Chelsea tie with Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang and Darren Randolph all available after picking up slight knocks.
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson is backing N’Golo Kante to nullify West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payet in Monday's showdown.
Chelsea signed the France midfielder for £30million this summer and he is expected to play a major role after helping Leicester to an unlikely Premier League title last season.
“If N'Golo Kante gets around Dimitri Payet, I don't see Payet touching the ball too often,” Merson told Sky Sports. “He's a top player and you don't want to be giving away free-kicks around the box, but he's not really going to run away from defenders.”