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#3 Injuries and suspensions could affect West Ham’s top-four hopes
Consistently eye-catching performances from many players in the West Ham ranks during the season has allowed the manager to name a largely settled side throughout the campaign, which has played a huge part in their sustained success.
Unfortunately for the Hammers, their thin squad, depleted by a few absences, seem to have caught up with them at the business end of the season.
While injuries forced the influential Declan Rice, Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell out for extended periods, the Hammers were also missing Craig Dawson due to suspension. That meant they went into their clash against Chelsea with a significantly weakened roster of players to choose from.
Their woes compounded further when replacement centre-back Balbuena received his marching orders in the second half as West Ham lost a centre-half for the second game in a row.
In the other camp, Chelsea boast a largely injury-free squad. They were not only able to make six changes from their midweek goalless draw, but they also put out a side that was close to their strongest possible XI.
West Ham will hope to welcome their missing players sooner rather than later, as the race for the top four heats up. Meanwhile, Chelsea would be thankful to have an injury-free squad, with an FA Cup final and a UEFA Champions League semi-final on the horizon alongside the Premier League run-in.
#4 Thomas Tuchel continues to impress as Chelsea boss
While there are regular discussions about the transformative effect a January signing can have on a team, Chelsea seem to have made one of the signings of the season when they appointed Thomas Tuchel as their manager in late January.
The German has made an immediate impact since arriving in England, propelling a struggling Chelsea side up the Premier League table while also guiding them to a Champions League semi-final and an FA Cup final since taking over.
Improved defensive displays have been a hallmark of Tuchel’s Chelsea, as the Blues have kept a string of clean sheets across all competitions. They have claimed a number of impressive scalps along the way and were unbeaten for nearly three months before suffering their first loss under the German in early April.
With a couple of trophies to win and a Champions League berth to secure, the Chelsea faithful are entitled to be extremely optimistic about their team's prospects as an eventful season nears its conclusion.
#5 The Premier League's top-four race heats up
While a London derby always makes for an enjoyable fixture, this particular game between West Ham and Chelsea carried added significance. That was because Chelsea were occupying the crucial fourth spot in the league table, while their London rivals were leading the chasing pack.
Only goal difference separated fourth and fifth going into the game, with Liverpool’s draw against Newcastle earlier in the day giving an added incentive to both sides as the winner would be able to eke out a tiny yet potentially crucial gap between themselves and the rest.
As it turned out, it was Chelsea who managed to land the crucial blow and open up a three-point gap between themselves and the Hammers with just five games left in the season. That has put the Blues in pole position to secure the final Champions League spot.
With Liverpool breathing down their necks, West Ham would look to tighten up their act come the end of the season, having performed admirably thus far to stay in touching distance of Champions League football.
