Chelsea ready to pounce on dropped points in Manchester Derby
Chelsea must beat West Ham today to capitalise on points dropped by rivals in Monday morning's (Singapore time) Manchester Derby, defender Cesar Azpilicueta has said.
Champions Chelsea, who are 11 points behind leaders Manchester City, will go level with second-placed Manchester United if they win at the London Stadium.
"The two (Manchester) teams can't both take three points, so every time you get an opportunity to get close, you have to take it," Azpilicueta told Sky Sports.
"We will look at ourselves and then see how the opponents will react."
After a sloppy start to the season, Antonio Conte's Chelsea have collected six wins in their last seven league games, with their only dropped points coming in last month's 1-1 away draw against Liverpool.
The festive fixture list looks a good chance for Chelsea to collect a healthy points haul as they are set to face opponents outside the top six in their next six league matches, starting with West Ham who are second from bottom and have not won in their last eight league games.
Conte, who will be without defender David Luiz (injury) and midfielder Danny Drinkwater (illness), said: "The best result is to win against West Ham and then anything can happen in the Manchester Derby.
"For me, the best result is our result, to try to win in a difficult game." - WIRE SERVICES
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