Chelsea beat Tottenham to win the Capital One Cup at Wembley

The Hammers are currently ninth in the Premier League standings

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes it would be counter-productive if his defenders attempt to provoke or intimidate Chelsea striker Diego Costa on Wednesday night.

The Hammers, lying in ninth place in the Premier League, face their third of four successive London derbies when league leaders Chelsea travel to Upton Park.

Allardyce has warned his players against trying to wind up Costa – because the 17-goal Spain international appears to relish any physical battle or aggravation.

Chelsea striker Diego Costa confronts Tottenham's Nabil Bentaleb (right) at Wembley on Saturday

Costa's shot deflected off Kyle Walker to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead during the Capital One Cup final

'I think trying to wind Costa up only makes him better – which is a silly thing to do,' said Allardyce.

'He will take a bit of shackling. We can't get involved with him. I've told our central defenders not to get involved with the fact he might try and upset them.

'He's an old-fashioned type of centre-forward because he seems to like getting motivated on the physical and niggle aspect of it all. I've told them not to get involved in that and get distracted, simply to focus on him in the final third.'

Costa does down under the challenge of Tottenham's Eric Dier during Saturday's clash in London

Although the match in East London comes three days after they beat Tottenham to win the Capital One Cup at Wembley, Allardyce does not foresee Chelsea enduring any struggles or complacency.

And believes the composition of the current Blues side – currently aiming for the 'Treble' of League Cup, Premier League and then Champions League – is comparable to the team Jose Mourinho built in his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Allarydce added: 'Jose's sides rarely slip up – that's why they are so good. The demands there are that they aren't allowed to be off. And they rarely make mistakes.

Sam Allardyce's side are currently ninth place in the Premier League ahead of Chelsea's visit on Wednesday

'(The current team) has physical presence and talent. As Jose says, it probably has a bit more flair and more talent than previous sides. He has managed to balance the two whilst still being very good defensively.