'Nowhere near' - Chelsea told West Ham weak spot as pundit calls for player to be dropped

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Chelsea already know one of West Ham’s weak points ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash.

Chelsea are now preparing for an all-London clash with West Ham United on Saturday at the London Stadium and a second successive away clash. The Blues picked up a hard-fought win over Bournemouth last time out, winning 1-0 thanks to a Robert Sanchez penalty save and a Christopher Nkunku winner.

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Meanwhile, West Ham could only manage a draw against Fulham, requiring a stoppage time leveller from Danny Ings to escape from Craven Cottage with a point. Most of a Hammers persuasion were not impressed by the performance of Julen Lopetegui’s men, who have won just once and lost twice in their first four outings.

That’s despite the Hammers spending significantly during the summer, albeit it was always going to take time for Lopetegui to get his new side playing his style of football while also bedding in those new players. While the Hammers look to correct errors aplenty this week ahead of the visit of Chelsea, the Blues will be looking to identify any possible weaknesses they can exploit.

According to one pundit, Konstantinos Mavropanos may be one of those weaknesses, with the Greek defender having struggled against Fulham. TalkSport pundit Tom Rennie wrote on X: “Mavrapanos again. Too deep. Doesn’t run back at pace. Doesn’t block the cross. Sorry, but he’s got to go. Nowhere near Premier League quality.”

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The versatile defender was linked with a move away from the London Stadium late in the summer transfer window but wound up staying put. He started at centre-back alongside Max Kilman on Saturday, It will be interesting to see whether new signing Jean-Clair Todibo replaces him this weekend,

Todibo omissions questioned

Former West Ham man Frank McAvennie has also highlighted Mavropanos’ quality, calling for Todibo to start. He told West Ham Zone: “I’m not too convinced about the partnership. Mavropanos, there’s a mistake in him. If you sign a player, you have to play him. Put Todibo in with Kilman for a couple of games and see if it works.

“I don’t understand why he would spend so much money on players and not give them a couple of games to get used to each other. The two have experience so I don’t think there would be any problem playing them together. I think the manager will eventually come to the realisation those two will be the starting pair going forward.”

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