“Of course we’re going there wanting to win the game. They’re not in the greatest form at the moment and therefore we should go there and try to win,”

Thomas Hitzlsperger is hoping West Ham can take advantage of Chelsea’s poor run of form and collect a valuable win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The Premier League champions are third in the table and although they beat West Brom 3-1 last weekend, two Champions League defeats against Manchester United and a draw against Stoke will give the Hammers hope.

Unfortunately for the east Londoners, their own form is particularly poor and have lost their last two matches; 3-0 to Bolton and 2-1 to Aston Villa.

They sit one off the bottom of the table, with only goal difference them and basement boys Wolves.

However Hitzlsperger believes a victory at Stamford Bridge is not out of the question for the struggling Hammers.

“Of course we’re going there wanting to win the game. They’re not in the greatest form at the moment and therefore we should go there and try to win,” he said. “It’s going to be massive for us, we have to lift ourselves up and try our best.”

It has been a disastrous season for West Ham, who have been out of the bottom three for only three weeks of the entire season.

The constant stress of being in the drop zone has undoubtedly had an effect on their performances and Hitzlsperger has demanded they deal with the pressure better then they have.

“We’re never really free are we? We’ve been in relegation fight the whole season,” he said.

“It’s going into games like last Saturday knowing you have to win it. Otherwise you’re in really big trouble, like we are now. Therefore we aren’t free of the pressure, we feel it.

“But we’re not the only ones, Villa came here and didn’t want to lose and they put pressure on all of us. We have to cope with it. We go to Chelsea knowing that they’re a very good side but hopefully they’ll struggle.”

The situation against Villa last weekend was not helped by the absence of Hammer of the Year elect, Scott Parker, who was missing with an Achilles injury.

He was sorely missed in the middle of the park when the Hammers put in an abject display against Villa.

Parker is set to miss the Chelsea game and Hitzlsperger believes too much is made of his absence and feels it is up to the players to prove they can perform without him there.

“Everyone’s asking about Scott. He’s an exceptional player and we miss him when he doesn’t play,” He said.

“But we should be able to win games and not give away goals like we did Saturday.”

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