Before the Cameroonian midfielder’s debut, West Ham had lost two of their first three league games. They've suffered just one in 11 top-flight matches when he has played.
Big Sam has taken West Ham to visit top-five Premier League sides on 11 occasions and earned only one point, though that arrived at Stamford Bridge last season.
Jose Mourinho has never lost against a Sam Allardyce-managed side in the Premier League, winning five of their eight tussles on the touchline and drawing the other three.
Though Fabregas scored his second Premier League goal for Chelsea at Stoke, he netted just once in ten appearances against West Ham for Arsenal.
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--87
16
57
25
74
93
42
01
00
87
12
10
None
Noble, Tomkins
Hazard
12.45pm DEC 26th
LIVE ON SKY SPORTS 1
STAMFORD BRIDGE
Look, the Blues may have scored more goals than anyone else in the league, but who have they really gone to town on other than Everton and Swansea? No one, that's who. Two goals has been their most common total in top-flight games this season and my gut tells me that won't change.
This trip across the capital has been a pretty miserable one for West Ham fans of late, who haven't seen their side even score a goal in the last three traipses to Stamford Bridge, let alone win. In fact, the Blues have held their London rivals at arm's length, scoring wise, five times in the last seven.
Everything is stacked against the high-flying Hammers, but weren't they similarly unfancied before sending Liverpool and Man City packing with their tail between their legs? If Newcastle can find a way to beat Mourinho's mob then Allardyce's Attacking Association, as I like to call them, definitely can. can.
Only one of the last 12 goals that Chelsea bagged against the Irons was scored by an out-and-out striker (if you can call Fernando Torres that). Frank Lampard used to love banging them in against the Hammers and someone has to fill his shoes. Step forward Cesc, who has to add to his criminally low tally at some point.
The Professor keeps shoving all these stats about West Ham's goal allergy at Stamford Bridge under my snout, but I want no part of it. No side have been involved in more league games containing at least four goals than West Ham have, and Chelsea have Diego Costa up front. This one's a winner.
1
0
4
3
2
14/12/08
25/4/09
20/12/09
13/3/10
11/9/10
23/4/11
1/12/12
17/3/13
23/11/13
29/1/14
The Senegalese is closer to the prolific form with which he first greeted Newcastle in 2011/12, with just three goals required to equal his entire Premier League tally for the past two seasons.
After losing each time he faced Man Utd in his early managerial career, the silver-haired troublemaker has avoided defeat in four of his seven league battles as a Magpie, winning two.
The Dutchman faced Newcastle three times in the Champions League as Barcelona manager, triumphing in the two matches for which he was at home.
The in-form front man has seven Premier League goals in 13 appearances against Newcastle. He has only had more success against three sides during his time in England.
Tiote
De Jong
Elliot, Krul, R Taylor, Santon, De Jong
Abeid, Aarons, Obertan
Shaw, Blind
Fellaini, Herrera
Smalling, Rojo
3pm DEC 26th
LIVE ON BT SPORT 1
OLD TRAFFORD
Supposedly there are people that think all good things come to an end. I'm not one. In United's last six games, four involved both they and their foes scoring, and they won three of those. If that's not proof to bury the killjoys, I don't know what is. If you need me, I'll be riding this trend to the bank.
Newcastle have only ever scored more than one goal in a league game at Old Trafford twice during the Premier League era. That is a stretch of 20 matches and, on both occasions that they did go on a scoring spree, they still somehow failed to win – losing 3-5 in 2002 and 3-4 in 2012.
In the past two seasons, this fixture saw at least three goals on three occasions in the league, with the net serving as a magnet to the ball whenever one man in particular was in possession. Evans has scored more goals than any other player in that time, even if one of his three was at the wrong end.
I wasn't on when Papiss buried Chelsea, so I'm doubling my stake here to try and make up for it by funding a lads’ holiday. That victory over the Blues ended a run of the Senegalese only scoring in draws and he's scored at Old Trafford before too. Where's my passport?
The one thing I've learned about Van Gaal is that he loves a line-up change. I can just imagine his excitement to rotate over the well-stocked festive fixture list, for which Radamel Falcao must be the big winner. I mean, if you can't get an expensive loan signing a game at Christmas, when can you?
4/3/09
16/8/10
19/4/11
26/11/11
4/1/12
26/9/12
7/10/12
26/12/12
7/12/13
5/4/14
The Chilean is far more prolific for country than club. Vargas nets 0.46 a game on international duty, compared to 0.27 on the domestic scene.
Redknapp has a woeful record against Arsenal in the Premier League era, winning just five in 32 against them, and two in 15 on the road.
Arsene Wenger has never lost a Premier League home game against a side that ended the season in the bottom three.
The livewire forward has been Arsenal's best signing since a certain Mr Henry, scoring or assisting 13 of their last 21 Premier League goals.
Sandro, Faurlin
Taarabt, Yun
Ozil
Koscielny, Wilshere, Ramsey, Ozil
Bellerin
Arteta, Rosicky
5.30pm DEC 26th
EMIRATES STADIUM
High-scoring games and December go together like cheese and onion for Arsenal. There was the 6-3 loss to Man City last season, 5-2 and 7-3 wins over Reading and Newcastle the term prior and a 4-0 win over Wigan in 2011/12. Need I say more?
The last team from the bottom half of the Premier League to stop Arsenal from scoring at home was Sunderland on the opening day of the 2012/13 campaign. If there is a better bet to be had on Boxing Day, I’m yet to discover it.
QPR have triumphed in five of the eight games that Charlie Austin has netted in this season. That's a 63 per cent win rate when the former non-league striker scores, and those are the kind of numbers that get me believing.
Three of the last four games between these two ended in a slim 1-0 victory for the north Londoners and, with many expecting a tonking against the league's worst away team, I'm of the belief that this trend will pay handsomely again instead.
QPR have lost every game that they have played on the road this season, right? Well get this for a glimmer of hope: Arsenal drew both of their games with the current bottom two - 2-2 at home to Hull and 1-1 away to Leicester. Get on.
6
27/4/94
31/12/94
8/4/95
26/12/95
2/3/96
27/1/01
21/12/11
31/3/12
4/5/13
27/10/12
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