MY ACCOUNT
Southampton must act fast to stop an alarming slide down the Premier League table as they prepare to entertain in-form West Ham at St Mary’s on Sunday.
The English top flight’s youngest squad have dropped from seventh to 17th amid a run of four straight Saints league defeats, while scoring only once in 360 minutes of football.
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has felt the heat come on him before, but the Southampton boss knows there are only six league games left before the mid-season break for the World Cup when big decisions are likely to be made.
His West ham counterpart has ridden out a mini-storm that followed back-to-back Premier League losses in September and now brings a confident Hammers side to the south coast after four successive wins.
David Moyes will be aiming to extend that sequence as he closes in on his best-ever run of results at London Stadium.
Team news
Hasenhuttl has only one fresh fitness concern ahead of West Ham’s visit with winger Moussa Djenepo looking doubtful due to illness.
The Austrian confirmed midfielder Romeo Lavia is closing in on a return to first-team action after spending more than a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Tino Livramento remains the Saints’ only long-term absentee.
Juan Larios is pushing for a recall at left-back after dropping to the bench against his former club last weekend, while Sekou Mara could provide an injection of pace into Southampton’s attacking plans.
Hammers boss Moyes described the absence of Thilo Kehrer with a knock and the substitution of Craig Dawson with a dead leg in Thursday’s game in the Europa Conference League against Anderlecht as “precautionary”.
Michail Antonio and Kurt Zouma missed out against the Belgians because of illness, while Angelo Ogbonna limped out of the game when he reported some tightness in his hamstring.
Nayef Aguerd (ankle) and Maxwel Cornet (calf) remain out.
The stats
Southampton have lost four games on the trot without 18-year-old midfielder Lavia after picking up seven points in five games when he was fit.
Hasenhuttl’s side have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 15 Premier League matches.
Moyes’ best run of consecutive wins as Hammers boss was a six-game sequence in January 2021, which included two FA Cup victories.
After goals in his last two league appearances, Jarrod Bowen has now scored 19 of his 23 goals in the top flight at the London Stadium.
After notching against both Wolves and Fulham, Gianluca Scamacca could be the first Italian player to score in three Premier League games in a row since Manolo Gabbiadini did for Southampton in March 2017.
Prediction
Southampton’s inconsistent nature is illustrated by them having recovered the joint-most points from losing positions this season (seven), although they have also lost two matches in which they took the lead.
They are a young side and prone to individual errors or bouts of collective anxiety that can prove very costly at this level.
West Ham are much more mature in their make-up and are worthy favourites at 11/8 to pick up another three points here.
The Londoners are unbeaten in their past four Premier League away games against Southampton, winning two, and can claim victory with a fourth clean sheet in a row at St Mary’s.
