A deserted London Stadium awaits Chelsea tomorrow evening when they travel across the capital to face West Ham.

And that will be different, concedes Blues manager Frank Lampard via Zoom as he looks ahead to the game. Football without fans is unsettling, he agrees, but it’s equally unsettling for everyone.

“It’ll be different; we’ve all seen how it looks without fans, and it can obviously go both ways at different times. Fans that support their team strongly can give them the edge, and in tense, tough moments it can be a different feel,” said Lampard, adding that it made the individual battles on the pitch between the players all the more important.

Lampard has always attracted intense feelings among Irons supporters, with some vicious, targeted and personal chanting… ever since he left West Ham for Chelsea in 2001. Without the jeers, the London Stadium will seem a particularly odd experience, but one the manager relishes.

“The hostility [I experienced as a player] always pushed me on to perform as well as I could. As a manager it’s different; it’s about how I prepare. West Ham are desperate for the points, but so are we.

“We’re so happy to be back, and obviously we’ve had some good results. We showed steel against [Manchester] City, and a 1-0 win against Leicester was a positive too,” he said. “We’ve ramped up the intensity quickly, and hopefully that can last us to the end of the season.”

Having scored twice or more in the last five league matches, Lampard is guardedly pleased about the club’s chance conversion level. “We can always be more clinical in front of goal, and we have to keep that up,” he said.

Christian Pulisic is a doubt for the game after a thigh strain.