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Loftus-Cheek in, Giroud on Abraham – Chelsea team Frank Lampard should choose against West Ham

Chelsea resumed the season brilliantly with three rebound wins.

They reached the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Leicester City, but returned immediately to the Premier League on Wednesday evening.

The Blues face West Ham at the London stadium and must maintain momentum as the first four games are about to go down the wire.

But which team should Frank Lampard choose for Wednesday night’s game?

football.london’s Chelsea writers have a say in the team that should be selected.

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Oliver Harbord – Chelsea correspondent

For the first time since the blockade, the Blues have a couple of key injury problems with Andreas Christensen and Christian Pulisic, but if both are in shape, both play.

Lampard makes six changes for the FA Cup win and could make exactly the same changes for the Premier League game. However, Mateo Kovacic should start.

The Croatian completely changed the game when he arrived with his intensity and Lampard should use it from the beginning of Wednesday night.

Ross Barkley could still make an impact from the bench, while Olivier Giroud should start over on Tammy Abraham.

Harbord team (4-3-3): Head; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso; Kovacic, Kante, Monte; Willian, Giroud, Pulisic.

Alan Smith – senior writer

The big question mark surrounds Christian Pulisic’s fitness after he came out with a calf problem against Leicester. If he is left out, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is likely to return.

Kurt Zouma will keep his spot if Andreas Christensen fails to overcome the hip problem, while Ross Barkley deserves another start after his performance from Sunday’s bench.

Other than that, they expect Lampard to go with a team similar to the one that defeated Manchester City with N’Golo Kante continuing to the base of the midfield – unless Lampard now feels the time to rest him – and Olivier Giroud returning for Tammy Abraham, who was quiet in Leicester.

Smith’s team (4-3-3) Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Zouma, Alonso; Kante; Barkley, Monte; Willian, Giroud, Loftus-Cheek

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