West Ham have 23 league goals. Southampton have 20. Nobody else in the Championship has more than 17.
Where the goals have come from
Cyle Larin has seven of them, the most in the division. Sunday was a quiet one for him, with Nicolas Schmid saving his early chance after a 50-yard diagonal ball from Ryan Manning, before the Brampton Bagsman received a booking for waving an imaginary card.
Finn Azaz is the more interesting name, with three goals and five assists already, and he was the man who set up James Bree’s winner against Portsmouth.
Azaz marked the derby on Instagram with the words “Doesn’t get much better than that”, according to SaintsExtra.
Ryan Manning has created eight big chances from left-back, the most at the club, and Bree’s finish on Sunday came from the other flank. Eckert has asked his right-back to arrive in the box more often. Even Keven Schlotterbeck has scored this season.
Léo Scienza adds two goals and two assists.
The bench adds to it. Divin Mubama, on loan from Manchester City, has the best shooting rate in the squad at 5.9 shots per 90 minutes, according to FotMob, and he was an unused substitute against Pompey. That is a lot of firepower sitting on the bench.
West Ham and the road test
Here is the catch. Sixteen of the 20 league goals have come at St Mary’s, and Saints Marching counted 15 goals at St Mary’s before the derby even started.
Away from home, the attack goes strangely quiet. In four league games on the road, they have scored once each time, and Saints Marching has already argued that Southampton’s away form will define the season.
West Ham know how to hurt this side. They scored four at St Mary’s in the Carabao Cup second round on the 25th August.
They are third in the table too, which makes them a promotion rival in the most literal sense. Southampton, carrying the four-point deduction, are 11th.
So the 24th October is the sternest test the second-best attack in the division could ask for. A team that scores freely at home has to find the same touch against the one side that scores more.
Norwich on Wednesday is the first chance to find out. They have shipped 19 goals in nine league games, so Larin and Azaz will expect chances.
A promotion rival with 23 goals, a 15:00 kick-off on the 24th October and an away record that needs fixing: the second-best attack in the division has plenty to prove.
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