Chris Sutton predicts result of West Ham United clash v Chelsea in new Julen Lopetegui verdict
West Ham United’s winless run in the Premier League will be extended to three games against Chelsea on Saturday 21 September, according to Chris Sutton.
The BBC Sport pundit believes that Julen Lopetegui’s side will only be able to come away with a point with the Blues travel to the London Stadium, predicting that it will be a 1-1 draw.
Although Sutton admits he hasn’t been convinced by Chelsea’s start to the season, he continues to remain undecided on Lopetegui and insists that he doesn’t believe he is an upgrade on David Moyes.
Writing for BBC Sport on Thursday (19 September) he said: “West Ham supposedly replaced David Moyes because they wanted to play ‘the West Ham way’, and the Hammers’ technical director Tim Steidten was reportedly flying managers in for talks when Moyes was still in charge.
“In his wisdom, Steidten decided to go for Julen Lopetegui, a manager with similar traits to Moyes in terms of how he is a pragmatist.
“They spent a lot of money in the summer, about £130million on new players, but are they going to do better than last season under Moyes, when they finished ninth? I am not sure they will.
“This is a very difficult game to call because West Ham have not been playing particularly well and I am not convinced by Chelsea either. They were very fortunate to beat Bournemouth last time out.
“I really do not have a clue how this one will go, so I suppose the sensible thing for me to go for is a draw.”
Will Julen Lopetegui and West Ham beat Chelsea at the London Stadium?
It is far too early on in the Lopetegui era at the London Stadium for pundits and supporters alike to already be writing off the new Hammers boss, even if the start to the season has been difficult.
Yes, fans would have hoped to have more than four points on the board from the opening four games of the campaign, but it was never going to be easy for the Hammers to pick up wins over the likes of Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Saturday afternoon’s clash with Chelsea isn’t going to be any easier for the Hammers, but it is the sort of game they should be looking to win if they want to finish in the European places this term.
A point certainly isn’t anything to be sniffed at, but Enzo Maresca’s side is there for the taking. Hopefully, Lopetegui and the rest of his team at West Ham will be able to prove Sutton and the rest of the doubters wrong.
The new signings will have to show up and demonstrate exactly why they cost the Irons so much this summer.
In other West Ham news, Tim Steidten is set to be on red alert after a new Jonathan David update emerged at Lille
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