West Ham United vs Chelsea FC for Premier League 2016: Is Payet Going to Start? Possible Lineup, Analysis and Kickoff Schedule
West Ham United will face Chelsea FC on Monday for the Premier League opener with new-found confidence after impressively dispatching heavily-favored Manchester, Liverpool and Arsenal last season. France is also looking to wipe out the not-so-impressive result from former Juventus coach, Antonio Conte, who landed them the worst place at tenth since two decades ago.
Luck is also escalating for West Ham after confirmation that Cheikhou Koyate and Pedro Obiang are available for the matchup. However, the squad is yet to decide if another starter, Dimitri Payet, is fit for the Premier League Opener, especially that they are facing iron team Chelsea FC.
Payet's improvement
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Slaven Bilic said that Payet already resumed training and showed a lot of improvement after suffering an injury from the lackluster performance that catapulted France into the finals. Three goals were made by the 20-year old star. The said Euro 2016 contribution came at a high price for Payet since he needed to sit a few games remaining during the tournament.
Although they went with Payet during team trainings, Aaron Cresswell, Gokhan Tore and Manuel Lanzini have high possibilities of sitting out the game.
Bilic stressed that the well-being of players is still the topmost concern for the team regardless if it is Chelsea or other contenders they will be facing. West Ham also regrets the extra minutes given to Payet in the Euro 2016. For the opener, the team will assess if Payet will play the full hour and a half regulation. Payet made nine goals and twelve assists in his debut year after coming off from Marseille, then signed with West Ham.
As for midfielders Cheikhou Koyate and Pedro Obiang, better positions are waiting after showing good stats during practice. Now the question is, will the two sustain the recovery momentum against Chelsea? Koyate showed to be promising after scoring twice during the Europa League.
Starting lineup
Meanwhile, with the current setup and trailing problems about West Ham's lineup, the team will have to rely on other brilliant players. Carroll, Valencia and Feghouli will pose as the biggest threats against Chelsea's Antonio Conte, regardless if Ivanovic and John Terry will start the game. The chances for West Ham's attacks becoming limited in this matchup is indeed high, but cannot be totally ruled out.
For fans who want to catch up with the anticipated match, West Ham United versus Chelsea FC will kick off at 3 p. m. ET on Monday, August 15.
