West Ham United dealt key injury blow for West Brom visit

West Ham United will be without key defender Konstantinos Mavropanos when they host Albion at the London Stadium on Saturday.

The 28-year-old sustained a knee injury during the Hammers’ 3-2 defeat to Southampton last weekend, which brought an end to their nine-match unbeaten run in the Championship.

There had been concerns that West Ham could be without the Greek international for a lengthy spell, although reports claim he is targeting a return before the international break next month.

Mavropanos has scored five goals in 13 league appearances for the Hammers this term and was named Championship player of the month for September.

Only skipper Jarrod Bowen has found the net more than Mavropanos this term - scoring six in the Championship and a further eight across all competitions.

Tomas Soucek, a stalwart in the Hammers midfield for seven seasons, has marked his return from injury with three goals in his last four appearances.

The Czechia international has missed the opening eight league games with an ankle injury, but bagged a brace from the bench in a 6-0 win at Lincoln City and a consolation against Southampton last weekend.

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West Ham start the weekend just two places and one-point above the Baggies, after they dropped to third following their Southampton setback.

That result prompted boos from the home crowd, as they stretched their winless run on home soil to three games across all competitions (losing twice, drawing once).

Nonetheless, West Ham are the leading scorers in the Championship with 32 - five more than league leaders Middlesbrough - who boast the second most goals in the division.

Boss Nuno Espírito Santo is searching for an immediate return to the top-flight and his second promotion from the Championship, after leading Wolves to the second-tier title in 2018.