Premier League: Saints Heading for a Hammer Blow

Southampton vs West Ham United

David Moyes’ high flying West Ham heads to the St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday in quest of another three points. The Hammers have had the better of Southampton for some time, and the current form suggests that trend is more than likely to continue.

Premier League: Southampton vs West Ham has, for a number of seasons, been a mid-table type of game, but the two stalwarts of the top flight have begun to drift in opposite directions in recent years. The Hammers had a great season last term, finishing sixth and they are seventh favourites to win the title in this campaign. Meanwhile Ralph Hassenhuttl’s Saints are in the midst of a group of 11 teams who could easily end up in a relegation struggle, and they are at odds of 4.50 to go down.

Both teams like to attack so it promises to be a busy day for the defences and an entertaining watch for fans.

Talking Points

Armstrong has big boots to fill

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Serie A

Here at SBOTOP we took a look at the transfer window winners and losers, and while teams like Liverpool and Arsenal might not have had the summer they hoped for, a move away from the south coast has worried many a Saints fan. Danny Ings has kept Southampton out of trouble for the past two seasons, scoring 37 goals in 67 games, but his move to Aston Villa in the summer left a large hole in the Saints’ attack.

Adam Armstrong is the man Hassenhuttl brought in to replace Ings at a cost of around £15m on a for year deal. He scored 49 goals in 139 games for Championship club Blackburn Rovers and he bagged one in his first 25 minutes as a Southampton player, in the opening day 3-1 defeat to Everton. He is yet to add to that tally, while Ings has already scored two for the Villains but Armstrong has plenty of pace and if he can continue to work out the top-flight defences then more goals will come.

Captain James Ward-Prowse is a class act, with a superb range of passing and a deadly free-kick, and he saved a point for Southampton with a 96^th minute leveller against Newcastle. The Saints also carved out an impressive draw with Manchester United and so they have two points on the board; and this is another game they will target for points.

But to do that they will need to attack with purpose and probably defend better than they have over the past six months. Southampton are without a clean sheet in 14 games and only one shutout in 24…

Fast start for the bubbling Hammers

Premier League: Michail Antonio is currently the top scorer of West Ham United — Michail Antonio celebrates after scoring for West Ham United against Crystal Palace

…and that could be a real problem against a side that has already scored ten goals and picked up seven points to take them to second place in the table. Last time out the Hammers had a frustrating day when they faced Crystal Palace, settling for a 2-2 draw, but before that they had a 2-4 win away to Newcastle, thanks to a second-half blitz, and they followed that up with an impressive 4-1 victory at home to Leicester. Striker Michail Antonio has continued his great form of last season and has scored four goals already in this campaign, while Pablo Fornals is a constant threat and has added two goals. Wide man Jarred Bowen has been in good form, creating plenty of chances for the front men and Southampton will target him to try to stem the flow of balls into the danger area.

Head coach David Moyes has worked wonders at the London Stadium and his team is playing with bags of confidence, and they could well have too much in attack for their hosts to withstand.

History

The Hammers have had the better of the Southampton vs West Ham results in the Premier League era, winning 19 matches to the Saints’ 12 and there have been ten draws. Recently the Clarets have had near-total domination, winning five of the last six.

They trounced Southampton 3-0 in May as Fornals scored a brace to secure Europa League football for the Hammers, and Moyes’ boys are in fine form on the road, winning their last four away games, and they are unbeaten in ten.

Betting Tip

	Southampton vs West Ham United	1X2 West Ham United @ 2.40
	September 11, 22:00 (GMT+8)

The Southampton vs West Ham betting odds tell us that all three results are well in play, with the visitors slight favourites and Southampton at 2.69, with the draw at 3.35.

West Ham are scoring freely and Southampton’s defence can be relied upon to concede, so over 2.75 goals at 1.95 could be a useful alternative bet.