Relegation candidates West Ham and Southampton clash on Saturday at the Olympic Stadium in London in a match that could decide which of the two teams will survive in the Premier League. The Saints won the reverse fixture 3-2 in August thanks to a stoppage-time penalty kick that was converted by Charlie Austin. Last season the Saints defeated West Ham 3-0 in London, but then lost 3-1 at home. Overall, Southampton have won three of the last six direct matches, while West Ham won just two.
West Ham have lost their last three Premier League matches and are just one place and two points above the relegation zone. They have won just one of their last seven league matches and have conceded three or more goals in their last three games. The Hammers are also going through a pretty serious injury crisis as seven players are expected to miss Saturday's match: James Collins, Manuel Lanzini, Pedro Obiang, Edimilson Fernandes, Andy Carroll, Sam Byram and Winston Reid.
Southampton have celebrated a victory before the international break, a victory that allows them to play in the FA Cup semi-finals, but that joy was dampened by the fact that the Saints are in pretty big trouble in the Premier League. They are currently in the relegation zone, two points away from safety, and with just one victory in the last six league matches. Mauricio Pellegrino got sacked due to that poor streak and Mark Hughes has taken his place, hoping to steer the club clear of relegation. Steven Davis is injured, Charlie Austin is back in training but this match comes too soon for him, while Ryan Bertrand is an injury doubt.
Probable line-ups:
West Ham: Adrian - Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell - Zabaleta, Kouyate, Noble, Antonio - Mario, Lanzini - Arnautovic
Southampton: McCarthy - Soares, Stephens, Hoedt, Bertrand - Tadic, Hojbjerg, Lemina, Boufal - Gabbiadini, Carrillo
My prediction: 2-2 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
West Ham win - 2.70
Draw - 3.25
Southampton win - 2.60
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Comments (1)
sharpe
04/13/18, 05:04:19 PM
That was a huge win for West Ham after all the noise around the club lately. Southampton looking doomed to failure this season although there's still 6 turns to...
That was a huge win for West Ham after all the noise around the club lately. Southampton looking doomed to failure this season although there's still 6 turns to go when I'm writing that but if they don't make a huge winning streak of 3-4 games which looks very unlikely, their chances for survival really do look slim.
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