Southampton v West Ham: Premier League betting preview, free tip & TV details

Football tips, best bets and predictions for Southampton v West Ham in the Premier League.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Southampton to win & both teams to score
1pt 12-5 bet365
Back this tip with bet365

Team news

Southampton
Yan Valery is again unavailable and Sofiane Boufal will be monitored. Stuart Armstrong is back in contention.

West Ham
Aaron Cresswell limped out of West Ham's defeat to Arsenal but could feature. Andriy Yarmolenko is nearing a return but Manuel Lanzini, Lukasz Fabianski and Jack Wilshere are all sidelined.

Match preview

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini's future hangs by a thread following Monday's second-half collapse against Arsenal and a resurgent Southampton could inflict more pain on the Hammers.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have shown improvement in their last four games and despite their defeat against Newcastle last weekend they are chasing a third straight win at St Mary's.

Much of their recent success has been built around the form of Danny Ings, who has scored in his last five Premier League matches. His tally of 11 goals means this is his most prolific campaign since he left Burnley in 2015.

James Ward-Prowse has also been in fine form for the Saints with the midfielder scoring the winning goal in a hugely important fixture against Watford.

This match and next weekend's away trip to Aston Villa look crucial in the Saints' battle against relegation with tough fixtures against Chelsea and Tottenham to follow over the festive period.

Since beating Manchester United in September to move up to fifth, West Ham have fallen down the table at an alarming rate.

They have lost seven of their last ten matches, conceding 21 goals in the process. Hammers' fans vented their anger after Monday's defeat to Arsenal which saw them concede three goals in nine minutes and Pellegrini's fate could well be sealed with defeat at St Mary's.

Due to Liverpool's commitment in the Club World Cup, West Ham will have a 12-day break before their next Premier League clash at Crystal Palace on Boxing Day and that gap could be seen as long enough for them to find a suitable replacement for Pellegrini.

West Ham's front players have been criticised in recent weeks and will need to improve if they are to take advantage of Southampton's defensive record, which is the worst in the division.

Felipe Anderson notched twice in this fixture last season, a game which West Ham won 2-1, but he has not scored since April and looked woefully out of form against Arsenal on Monday.

Sebastien Haller has also struggled for form after scoring four goals in his first seven appearances but he has not found the net since scoring against Crystal Palace in October.

However, Saints are leaky and that points to a punt on a home win with both teams scoring.

Southampton have struggled in front of their supporters this season with only bottom club Watford having a worse home record. They have taken just seven points at St Mary's and conceded 23 goals, nine of which came in their horror show against Leicester.

Since that October evening, all Southampton's defeats have come by the odd goal, while they drew at Arsenal and got crucial home victories against Watford and Norwich.

A third home victory in a row would give the Saints a real boost and can lift them out of the relegation zone.

Key stat

West Ham have lost seven of their last ten matches.

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