Football Results

Here we have a clash between two teams positioned near the bottom of the table as 17th-placed West Ham meets 18th-positioned Southampton, which has two points fewer at the moment. There are many other teams which struggles to survive and each won points is of great importance. We need to add that match between the Saints and Hammers played last autumn had ended as victory of the home team 3-2.

West Ham

Right because of that West Ham representatives state that the team will give its best in order to defeat the guests from south of England, especially as they come very close to the drop zone after the latest three-game losing streak. True, drew with direct competitor in the survival race wouldn’t be bad outcome for the Hammers given that several teams positioned above them have minimal point advantage but have played one match more.

West Ham played the last official match even three weeks ago when was totally unexpectedly defeated at home by Burnley 3-0, while before that it lost by 4-1 away to Liverpool and Swansea. Before losing to Burnley, team led by manager Moyes had five-game unbeaten streak at home of three wins and two draws, and they have to again find the winning combination regardless that this time cannot count on injured defenders Reid and Byram, midfielders Obiang and Fernandes, and forward Carroll.

Probable lineups West Ham: Adrian – Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell – Zabaleta, Kouyate, Noble, Antonio – Joao Mario, Lanzini – Arnautovic

Southampton

Regarding the guests from south of England, we have said in the introduction that they occupy alarming 18th place in the Premier League table before duel with the Hammers. Southampton has just one point more than penultimate Stoke, but on the other hand it minimally lags behind teams that occupy places between 13th and 17th position. The Saints brought themselves into this unpleasant situation after the latest four-game winless streak of two defeats and two draws, which was reason to recently end contract with Argentinian coach Pellegrino.

In the meantime his place has taken experienced Welsh coach Marh Hughes, who won his derby as Southampton manager in the FA Cup by 2-0 when his team dispatched third-division Wigan. Of course, that should be an additional motive for the Saints to finally play better in the league. We need to add that this match between two teams positioned near the bottom of the table will skip only from before injured stopper Yoshida, midfielder Davis and forward Austin.

Probable lineups Southampton: McCarthy – Soares, Stephens, Hoedt, Bertrand – Hojbjerg, Lemina – Ward-Prowse, Tadić, Boufal – Carrillo

Verdict:

Given that both teams are positioned at the boundary of the drop zone, it is quite clear that both of them will primarily try to stay undefeated on Saturday, meaning that this match which is part of the survival battle shouldn’t end with too many goals.

Pick:  under 2.5 goals 1.68 - 68/100 @1XBet