PREVIEW: West Ham United vs Southampton – 31/03/18

West Ham United vs Southampton

Date: 31/03/18

K/O: 15:00pm

Venue: London Stadium

Referee: Jon Moss

The London Stadium will be host to a huge six pointer this weekend as West Ham United take on Southampton.

The Hammers will be hoping for an easier afternoon then last time out during their 3-0 loss to Burnley, where there were numerous pitch invasions as tensions spilled into large scale protests against the board during the game.

Southampton however, will be hoping new manager Mark Hughes continues on from their 2-0 FA Cup win against Wigan Athletic last time out. Hughes will definitely be thinking he can get his first Premier League win as Southampton manager. Both of these squads are a lot better then their league position and have severely underperformed this season, and therefore Saturday’s contest takes on an added dimension of importance for both Hughes and Moyes.

Team News

West Ham will be able to recall Arthur Masuaku back to the squad as he has completed his six game suspension for spitting. Moyes will also be able to recall James Collins and Chiekou Kouyate as they have both recovered from knocks. However, the Hammers will be sweating on the fitness of star man Manuel Lanzini who picked up a knock on international duty and will be assessed on Saturday.

Mark Hughes will also be happy with the options at his disposal as he has Charlie Austin back fit after a three-month lay off – especially as he has a habit of scoring against the Hammers as shown in the reverse fixture when he converted a 90^th minute penalty. Hughes will also be able to call on Steven Davis after he has recovered for a hamstring injury, whilst Ryan Bertrand will also be in contention as he withdrew from the England team as a precaution.

Predicted Line-ups

West Ham United: Adrian, Masuaku, Ogbonna, Collins, Rice, Zabaleta, Kouyate, Noble, Lanzini, Arnautovic and Antonio.

Formation: 5-3-2

Southampton: McCarthy, Bertrand, Stephans, Hoedt, Cedric, Boufal, Hojbjerg, Lemina, Tadic, Gabbiadini and Austin

Formation: 4-4-2

Prediction: West Ham 2 Southampton 1

If Southampton get an early goal then I can see this game being a walk over for them. However West Ham were the better team against Burnley before they went behind and if the Hammers play how they did then they should have some better luck and could wipe the floor with this Southampton team. Either way, this is a massive six-pointer for both teams as the try to beat the drop. I’m going to have to go for a home win, but it will be close.

Written by Henry Tomlinson.