Chelsea must beat West Ham to take advantage of Manchester derby, says Cesar Azpilicueta

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Chelsea must beat West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday to capitalise on points dropped by rivals in Sunday's Manchester derby, says defender Cesar Azpilicueta.

Champions Chelsea, who are 11 points behind leaders Manchester City, could go level with second-placed Manchester United with a win at West Ham's London Stadium in the lunch-time kick-off.

'The two (Manchester) teams can't both take three points, so every time you get an opportunity to get close, you have to take it,' Azpilicueta told Sky Sports.

Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea wants to take advantage of this weekend's Manchester derby

Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho will clash in the Premier League this weekend

'We have to be intelligent to look at ourselves and then we'll see how the opponents will react.'

After a sloppy start to the season, Antonio Conte's Chelsea have collected six wins in last seven league games, with their only dropped points coming against Liverpool in a 1-1 draw at Anfield last month.

The festive fixture list looks a good chance for Chelsea to collect a healthy points haul as they are set to face opponents outside the top six in their next six league matches.

West Ham are second from bottom and have not won in their last eight league games.

'We have to go game by game in this busy period in December - every three days you are fighting for a big three points. We have to look at ourselves,' Azpilicueta added.

'We will then see where we are in the final weeks of the season, where we could fight for it.'

Azpilicueta says Chelsea can get themselves back in the mix for the Premier League title