West Ham captain Mark Noble is sorry seeing Ross Barkley struggling for minutes at Chelsea.

The two teams meet on Sunday.

Noble wrote for the London Evening Standard: "We're looking forward to playing Chelsea, the form team in the Premier League with the form player, Eden Hazard. I've read some suggestions he is the best player in Europe. He's certainly one of them, but I watched Barcelona during the week, where Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick.

"But Eden is one of the best I've played against. He's so strong, so quick, he's sharp in the mind and he can often do whatever he wants to do, despite all your efforts to try to stop him.

"One thing that is a shame is that when Eden is in the side, Ross Barkley obviously has fewer chances — you always want to see a good, young English player in Chelsea's team.

"How do we approach Sunday's game, though? With a lot more confidence, a lot more belief, if I'm honest. We know, though, we have to play well because if you don't, against a team like Chelsea, there's every chance you'll be beaten convincingly."