Southampton welcome West Ham United to St Mary’s Stadium in a relegation six pointer, as the Saints look to move out of the Premier League relegation zone.
A win for Southampton will see them move above West Ham who could drop into the relegation zone, depending on defeat coupled with Aston Villa getting a point at Sheffield United earlier on Saturday afternoon.
West Ham meanwhile can move four points clear of the Saints with victory.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesYan Valery is ruled out for Southampton due to a viral illness but could return next weekend.
Stuart Armstrong (hamstring) is expected to be available but Sofiane Boufal (toe) will be subject to a late fitness test.
West Ham could have Aaron Cresswell available after the left-back overcame a tight hamstring picked up in Monday’s defeat to Arsenal.
Andriy Yarmolenko (back) and Winston Reid (fitness) could also be in contention to feature, although Jack Wilshire (groin), Manuel Lanzini (shoulder) and Lukasz Fabianski (hip) are still absent.
Form
Southampton are unbeaten in three of their last four games (W2, D1, L1), although their last three home matches have all been settled by 2-1 results with the Saints winning on two of those occasions.
West Ham enter this game with just four points from their last nine league games (W1, D1, L7), and have drawn blank in three of their four home games with the exception of a 1-0 win at Chelsea a few weeks ago.
Stat Attack
- Southampton have won just one of their last five meetings with West Ham (W1, L4).
- Both teams have scored in their last three clashes at St Mary’s Stadium.
- Only one of last season’s six goals in this fixture came in the first-half, courtesy of Marko Arnautovic in May 2019 at the London Stadium.
- Angelo Ogbonna has made 30 headed clearances for West Ham this season, more than any other player.
- Danny Ings is the only Southampton player to of been substituted at least 10 times this season.
Prediction
With Xmas drawing ever closer, Southampton need to produce a strong result here if they want to stay close in the survival fight to those just above the drop.
West Ham however are devoid of ideas when they’re not on the front foot, making strong starts to each half absolutely important if they want to build momentum and control this game.
If not then I can see Southampton producing another spirited win akin to their last home game, but with a clean sheet this time.
Prediction: Southampton 2-0 West Ham United
Result: Southampton 0-1 West Ham United