Chelsea show five changes

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho makes five changes for their crucial Premiership clash with West Ham at Upton Park.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho makes five changes for their crucial Premiership clash with West Ham at Upton Park.

Andriy Shevchenko is sidelined with an injury sustained in the FA Cup semi-final win over Blackburn on Sunday.

Mourinho elects to rest Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack, Claude Makelele, and Joe Cole.

Mikel Jon Obi, Wayne Bridge, Salomon Kalou, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Lassana Diarra replace them.

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West Ham make three changes. Manager Alan Curbishley axes Matthew Etherington and Lee Bowyer while Anton Ferdinand is injured.

Luis Boa Morte, Yossi Benayoun and Jonathan Spector start instead.

Liverpool omit Steve Finnan and Xabi Alonso from the side which drew 0-0 at Manchester City on Saturday for their home game with Middlesbrough.  Dirk Kuyt is relegated to the bench.

Boss Rafael Benitez switches Alvaro Arbeloa from left to right-back and brings in Mohamed Sissoko, Boudewijn Zenden and Peter Crouch, leaving Steven Gerrard as the support striker.

Middlesbrough bring Andrew Davies, Lee Cattermole, Emanuel Pogatetz and James Morrison into the side that lost at Aston Villa last time out — former Liverpool man Abel Xavier, Robert Huth, Adam Johnson and Malcolm Christie are replaced.

Tonight's teams

West Ham:Green, Spector, Collins, Neill, McCartney, Benayoun, Reo-Coker, Noble, Boa Morte, Tevez, Zamora. Subs: Carroll, Cole, Mullins, Davenport, Blanco.

Chelsea:Cech, Diarra, Carvalho, Terry, Bridge, Essien, Mikel, Lampard, Wright-Phillips, Drogba, Kalou. Subs: Cudicini, Makelele, Joe Cole, Ballack, Ferreira.

Liverpool:Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Riise, Pennant, Mascherano, Sissoko, Zenden, Gerrard, Crouch. Subs: Dudek, Hyypia, Fowler, Gonzalez, Kuyt.

Middlesbrough:Schwarzer, Davies, Woodgate, Pogatetz, Taylor, Boateng, Morrison, Cattermole, Rochemback, Downing, Yakubu. Subs: Jones, Riggott, Viduka, Lee, Johnson.

Blackburn:Friedel, Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Bentley, Dunn, Mokoena, Pedersen, Roberts, McCarthy. Subs: Brown, Kerimoglu, Henchoz, Gallagher, Derbyshire.

Watford:Foster, Mariappa, Carlisle, DeMerit, Stewart, Smith, Mahon, Francis, Rinaldi, Priskin, Bouazza. Subs: Chambers, King, Kabba, Shittu, Bangura.