West Ham boss Bilic believes Chelsea are nearing their best ahead of Upton Park showdown

Slaven Bilic is wary of Chelsea ahead of their clash with the Blues on Sunday

SLAVEN BILIC admits that watching Chelsea face Dinamo Kiev on Tuesday was like viewing a horror movie as he saw signs that the troubled champions are getting back to their old selves.

West Ham have already got impressive results against Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool this season and entertain Chelsea at Upton Park on Saturday as a top-four side.

With Chelsea struggling for form at the moment, Bilic had hoped it was the perfect time to play them – although his mind was changed during the course of the goalless draw in Kiev.

“On one hand it is a good time, you cannot deny it,” he said. “They have not started like we were all expecting them to and they don’t have that consistency of last year or year before.

“On the other hand it is a very dangerous time to play them because they are motivated and know they have to make some good results.

“They played a really good game against Kiev and looked solid, like the old Chlesea. It is a tough trip to Kiev – I watched the game and I wasn’t happy afterwards.

“They looked really sharp and some of the players who have not been playing so well, played better. They are still Chelsea. They will still finish in the top four.

“It just shows you how football is strange or weird. The same team, champions. Jose Mourinho is always motivated and his teams are always hungry and everybody was expecting him, maybe not to be first after nine games, but certainly not to be where they are now.

 

West Ham have already won away at Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal this season

“I have watched most of their games and sometimes you play the same way only the ball hits the post this year. It doesn’t have to be much. Drawing is like losing and suddenly after a couple of games they lose that five per cent of confidence.

“If it was something big or major he would be the first to change it. But sometimes it is those invisible things that you cannot detect quickly. They will come back – just hopefully not against us.”

Bilic makes no apology for commenting on another team apart from his own – he feels he cannot help it.

“I don’t think all the time about Chelsea but you are bombed with information about them so you spend a bit of time thinking about them,” he said.