Raheem Sterling has been a Premier League feature for over a decade now – doesn't time fly? The Chelsea star has delivered for three top clubs in that time, too, earning himself a reputation as one of the country's very best.
The Blues kicked off their Premier League season with a draw at home to one of Sterling's old sides, Liverpool – and now approach their first London derby of the new campaign as they travel to face West Ham United.
While the Liverpool game was a massive one from the outset, the clash against West Ham may be the biggest test of this new-look side. It's a game they're fully expected to win, after all.
Sterling will be one of the main players Chelsea turn to as they hunt for that win, so Football FanCast has taken a look at just how good his record looks against the Hammers.
What is Raheem Sterling's goal record against West Ham?
Raheem Sterling first played against West Ham all the way back in 2012. He's faced them a lot since, as you'd expect – 19 meetings in all, across three different competitions.
The vast majority of those have come in the Premier League – 17 in total – with one each in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Sterling's goal record is very good in the fixture, too. He's scored eight times in those 19 games, with all of them coming in the Premier League. Though, it's worth mentioning that he hasn't actually scored against West Ham since 2019 – which was a hat-trick in the season opener for Manchester City.
What is Raheem Sterling's assist record against West Ham?
Sterling's assist record is also fantastic against West Ham. He's picked up eight in 19 appearances, with seven of them coming in the Premier League.
That's actually the most assists that Sterling has against any other opponent in his career. There are four clubs with five against them, but the England star seems particularly likely to supply a teammate against the Hammers.
In fact, he managed one in his very first game against the east Londoners back in 2012.
How many goal contributions does Sterling have against West Ham?
Combining goals and assists, Sterling has contributed to 16 goals in 19 appearances against West Ham. It's a phenomenal number, really, and stands out as the best record he has against anyone.
Next would be Bournemouth, against whom he's managed 15 contributions. It's notable that most of those came through goals – 11 to 4 assists.
The fact that Sterling has evenly split his 16 goals and assists against West Ham is a sign that he's been particularly lethal against them in his time.
What is Raheem Sterling's head-to-head record against West Ham?
Given the three clubs Sterling has played for in his career – Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea – his head-to-head record against West Ham is a positive one.
14 of his 19 appearances have ended in wins, with only two draws and three defeats. It's the joint-most wins Sterling has managed against any opponent, joining Bournemouth and Everton.
Though, it's worth mentioning that those 14 wins against the Cherries came in 14 games against them. You can't really do better than that.
In the Premier League, Sterling's record against West Ham stands at 13 wins in 17 games, with two draws and two defeats.
What is Raheem Sterling's goal record away at West Ham?
This upcoming fixture will be at West Ham, of course, so it's worth having a detailed look at Sterling in this away fixture.
11 of his 19 games have been away from home, with nine in the Premier League. Interestingly, this is where you find most of his goals – five of the eight have been at West Ham, all in the league.
And it gets stranger! Sterling's eight assists have all been in east London, meaning his record at West Ham reads 11 games, five goals, eight assists. Few players can boast a better away record than that against anyone.
Who has Raheem Sterling scored against the most?
Sterling's best goal records come against two clubs – Bournemouth and Watford. He's managed to bag 11 against each of them, with his Bournemouth goals coming in 14 appearances when facing the Cherries.
But his Watford goal record is particularly notable. Sterling scored those 11 (with two assists) in just 10 appearances, making them the team he thrives against the most.
Southampton and Newcastle United both come next, having each conceded nine times to Sterling. Norwich City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur join West Ham in having conceded eight times.
How many goals does Raheem Sterling have in August?
Sterling is particularly lethal in August and tends to start the season very well. In total, he's scored 19 times in his career across the opening month. It's worth remembering that the Premier League didn't even play games in August 2020.
So Sterling is a major threat to kick-off campaigns. Notably, he previously bagged a hat-trick away at West Ham in the month of August, while he also managed to score three times for Chelsea in August 2022.
West Ham certainly can't afford to take him lightly.
What is Raheem Sterling's overall Chelsea goal record?
Sterling joined Chelsea last summer as their star signing, but things didn't really go to plan. He played 38 times, scoring nine goals and assisting another four. It's a decent record, but looks worse in detail.
28 of those appearances came in the Premier League, as did six of the goals. However, the goals weren't too impressive in hindsight.
The first three all came in August, with two against relegated Leicester City and another against bottom club Southampton. Those would be Sterling's only goals before the new year.
The other three league goals were all against Nottingham Forest, across two games. The six were only against three clubs, then, all of whom battled relegation all season long.
What is Raheem Sterling's Premier League goal record?
Playing so many seasons in the top flight leads to a lot of goals, and Sterling has managed a whopping 115 in his time – two more than Ian Wright and 22nd in the all-time list.
In fact, the forward will move into the all-time top 20 this season if he matches even his meagre haul of the last campaign.
It would push him above his former captain, Steven Gerrard and level with Romelu Lukaku on 121. He's still only 28, though – Sterling will hope to push on for many more and really solidify his place in even the top 15.
What is Raheem Sterling's Premier League assist record?
Weirdly, Sterling is also 22nd on the all-time Premier League assists list. He has 59, one behind Mohamed Salah and three clear of Eric Cantona.
And much like with his goal record, Sterling would move into the top 20 if he matched his tally from last season. Nolberto Solano currently occupies that particular slot, but the Chelsea star will move level with just three assists.
Once again, Sterling will hope to cement himself in that top 20 before he's done in the Premier League.
What is Chelsea's record against West Ham?
Chelsea and West Ham have met a lot in their history, dating all the way back to 1923 in competitive matches. There have been 120 fixtures in total, where there is a relatively shared split of the results.
The Blues have won more – 54 in total – mostly thanks to a dominant stretch from 2004 to 2011 where they never lost to West Ham and only drew twice. To the Hammers' credit, they've still come away with the win on 43 occasions.
But what about the Premier League era? As you'd expect, things swing dramatically in Chelsea's favour there.
They've met 54 times since the rebrand and the Blues came away with the points on 29 occasions. West Ham managed to take them 15 times, with 10 draws between the pair.
Read more on West Ham v Chelsea HERE…
What are Chelsea's recent results against West Ham?
It has been a bit of a mixed bag over recent seasons, this one. Chelsea did manage a positive record last time, though, beating West Ham at home and then drawing away.
The season before that saw the two clubs split the points. Both teams won at home, West Ham prevailing 3-2 and Chelsea doing so in a late 1-0 victory. That came after the Blues had won both ties in 2020/21 without conceding a goal.
However, West Ham stole the show the year before that, winning both games in the 2019/20 season. It all goes to show that this isn't a particularly predictable fixture in recent years.
When is West Ham vs Chelsea?
West Ham will host Chelsea on Sunday 20th August at 4.30pm UK time. It'll be each side's second game of the Premier League season as they look to claim their first wins of the campaign after draws last weekend.
They will also seek to bounce back after disappointing domestic terms last year. West Ham will use two things to do that. First, they have the success of a Europa Conference League win to play off of.
Things are buzzing around the club after that, providing a real boost to their confidence. Then there's the Declan Rice money, of course, that should see David Moyes putting out a deeper squad this time out.
Chelsea will hope that a little summer remodelling finally gives their squad the cohesion it lacked last time. Some have come in, some have gone out, and there's a new manager to boot. They'll want to put last season behind them as quickly as possible if they're to get back to where they hope to be.