West Ham vs Southampton
Date: 29/02/20
K/O: 15:00
Venue: London Stadium
Referee: Anthony Taylor
West Ham host Southampton this weekend and will look to extend their winning streak against the side from the south coast to five.
If David Moyes can succeed, he will equal West Ham’s longest winning run against any opponent in the Premier League. The Hammers enjoy a fixture with the Saints as they have won more Premier League games overall (17) than they have against any other opponent, so this feat is certainly not out of reach.
The initial stats do not look good for Ralph Hasenhuttl and his men. However, no team in the Premier League has fewer points at home than West Ham this season (12), compared to Southampton picking up 59% of their points on the road, a league-high regarding point distribution.
Hasenhuttl must love playing teams from the capital as the Saints’ last four games have resulted in three wins and one draw, taking points off Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Crystal Palace. The stats suggest a very open affair this weekend, and both teams will be eager for the win. In Southampton’s travels to West Ham, a victor has emerged in their last 16 fixtures with West Ham winning 12, meaning it is likely that one of the sides is going to walk away with all three points.
West Ham’s last win in the league came on the stroke of the New Year, with a 4-0 victory over Bournemouth. Since then they have accumulated two points from a possible 21, seeing them fall dangerously into the relegation zone. On the contrary, in the same time frame, Southampton have won four out of their last seven Premier League games, lifting them into 12th position, sitting ten points ahead of their opposition this weekend.
Team News
West Ham
The Hammers will be without Ryan Fredricks, Tomas Soucek, Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko, all through injuries sustained in previous weeks. The only change to the starting line-up will be Ngakia ahead of the injured Fredricks.
Moyes has dug himself into some real trouble, finding himself in the relegation zone. One incredible positive was their performance last week against the league leaders, Liverpool. To challenge the almost certain Champions for 70 minutes of the game was an impressive feat, and leading the game is a lot more than what can be said for the rest of the league this season.
Moyes must now build on the positives from that performance and apply his team and attempt to secure some points at home. Fredricks replacement, Jeremy Ngakia was a standout player against Liverpool and will look to continue his stint in the first team and secure his place with another excellent performance this weekend.
Southampton
Southampton’s only injury this weekend is Nathan Redmond with an injury sustained two weeks ago. Likely replacements for the Englishman will either be Sofiane Boufal or Moussa Djenepo, both of whom can be very tricky individuals who can have massive impacts within games.
Southampton’s turn of form has been astronomical. Since their 9-0 loss to Leicester, they have won eight, drawn two and lost seven, and will see this weekend as an opportunity to increase that stat as their form away from home has been almost unrivaled this season.
Their defensive solidity combined with the clinical finishing of Danny Ings has been more than enough to see their points tally increase dramatically. The Saints sit three points behind 9th and three points ahead of 14th, it would be safe to assume that they are well out of the relegation battle and should be aiming to finish in the top half come to the end of the season.
Predicted Starting XIs
West Ham (4-5-1): Fabianski; Ngakia, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Noble, Rice, Snodgrass, Fornals, Anderson; Antonio
Southampton (4-4-2): McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Stephens, Bertrand; JWP, Hojbjerg, Armstrong, Boufal; Long, Ings
Score Prediction: West Ham 1-3 Southampton
Like Southampton, West Ham’s home form is incredibly questionable and combined with the Saints’ away form, David Moyes could find himself in a difficult situation following this weekend.
