West Ham vs Southampton: The Saints march into London seeking a win

Coming off a dominate win on Saturday, Southampton look to make it back-to-back victories in the Premier League and get closer to the top half.

The first matchup between the two sides saw the Hammers win at St. Mary’s 1-0 in a very boring match that people would rather soon forget than remember.

The Saints come into this one looking to build off the moment from last weekend and West Ham are looking to stop the bleeding and to get themselves out of the relegation zone.

Let us take a look at how both teams could win this match.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 22: Stuart Armstrong of Southampton celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Aston Villa at St Mary’s Stadium on February 22, 2020 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images) /

How West Ham Will Win.

The Hammers attack has been feast or famine recently and you just do not know which way it will go on any given match. In their last 5 matches they have been held scoreless three times and in the two matches they weren’t they have scored 5 times. Most notably, they put in two goals against Liverpool at Anfield.

If they wish to beat off Southampton (one of the best away teams in the league) they will need to put in at least two goals and hope to hold the Saints to only 1. I do not see them getting a clean sheet in this match.

I think West Ham will need their playmakers to show up and create issues for the Saints backline. Teams usually find success on the counter against Saints and that is where they will need to strike.

How Southampton Will Win

The Saints are a completely different team than when they faced West Ham previously. They hit a recent rough patch but the match against Villa will have the confidence levels high and they will be more than ready to take on West Ham, Saturday.

Ralph, will have a game plan and the lads will execute it. I think they will press a little harder Saturday and try and force a lot of mistakes out of West Ham. I see Southampton scoring two in the first half.

With that said it will be a matter of not losing focus and making sure the defense stays strong. I do not think they will keep a clean sheet but I could see them only conceding once.

Predicted Line-ups

West Ham: 4-1-4-1

Goalkeeper: Lukasz Fabianski

Defenders: Aaron Cresswell, Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop, Jeremy Ngakia

Defensive Midfielders: Declan Rice

Midfielders: Felipe Anderson, Mark Noble, Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini

Striker: Sebastien Haller

Southampton: 4-2-2-2

Goalkeeper: Alex McCarthy

Defenders: Kyle Walker-Peters, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, Ryan Bertrand

Midfielders: James Ward-Prowse, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

Attacking Midfielders: Stuart Armstrong, Moussa Djenepo

Strikers: Danny Ings, Shane Long

Predicted Score

West Ham 1-3 Southampton

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