England Premier League
Thursday 27th December 2018
Kick off at 7.45pm GMT
Venue: St Mary's Stadium
Match Preview:
Ralph Hasenhuttl has got off to a magnificent start as Southampton’s manager and the team who had won just one game all season before Mark Hughes’ sacking, will now be looking for their 3rd win in a row when they take on West Ham.
The Saints have climbed up to 16th place after wins over Arsenal and Huddersfield where they scored 3 goals in each game. However they are still in the danger zone and only 3 points clear of the bottom three.
Southampton have won just one game at home all season which was the victory over Arsenal but at the same time they have gone their last 4 games at St Mary’s without defeat, their last loss here came against Chelsea at the beginning of October.
West Ham have been in very good form winning 4 games in a row before injuries and possibly fatigue caught up with the team last weekend when they disappointingly lost at home against Watford by 2-0.
Fans will be hoping that the result was a just a blip and The Hammers good form which has seen them move up into 12th place on 24 points will continue. However this game will be tricky. Away from home Manuel Pellegrini’s team have an average record but recent form is good as they have gone on a 4 game unbeaten run.
Team News:
Southampton: Pierre-Emile Hojberg is suspended for this game after collecting five yellow cards. Cedric is trying to be fit after his calf injury and will be assessed. Ryan Bertrand is expected to miss this game with a back injury but could be back before the end of the year
West Ham: Marko Arnautovic is training again after his hamstring injury and some reports suggest that the Austrian could return for this game, although this has not been confirmed yet, but he is ahead of schedule. Fabian Balbuena should be available to play after a slight knock. Javier Hernandez suffered a knock in the Watford game but looks likely to be fit for this game. Lucas Perez with a foot injury will be assessed ahead of this match and Jack Wilshire’s return has been delayed once again with his ankle injury
Southampton vs West Ham Head to Head:
Southampton won this fixture last season 3-2.
West Ham have scored 8 goals against Southampton in the last 3 meetings.
West Ham have only won 1 game away to Southampton in 15 years.
The last 2 meetings at Southampton have ended in over 3.5 goals.
Southampton vs West Ham Prediction:
Goals seems like the nature of the day for this game and in a match that could be very much wide open from the first whistle. Both coaches prefer an attacking system which will be enjoyable to watch for us because at times both sets of defenders can be naive at times.
We expect to see a game played out like a cup one with many incidents taking place in between and thus many markets can be opened up for us on this game which is the only one to take place on Thursday in the Premier League. Watch out for Southampton’s Charlie Austin, not only is he in good form and rejuvenated under his new manager but he also has a knack for scoring against The Hammers and we will back him to do so again.
Southampton vs West Ham Betting Tips:
Southampton to beat West Ham at 2.25
Both teams to score at 1.62
Over 2.5 goals at 1.72
Anytime goalscorer: Charlie Austin at 2.60
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