West Ham head into the weekend following the 3-1 loss to Arsenal last time out. A bounce back with a win is imperative if we are to regain momentum after a painfully boring international break.
This Saturday West Ham face Southampton, our old rivals from last season. A tale of two styles then, it is now a tale of two starts, with Southampton really struggling at the start of this campaign.
Goals haven’t been a problem for the Saints, but they certainly haven’t been able to prevent them, either. With a goal difference of -8, Southampton is sitting just above the bottom three, having taken four points from their opening seven games.
The Saints have been good in front of goal, with Lambert netting four so far this season, with the team still showing they like to knock it about and attack constantly. But as always, this leaves lots of space between Southampton’s midfield and defense and, of course, behind their defense (particularly their fullbacks).
Arsenal really showed how to exploit the space left by the south coastal club, netting six. But Southampton has shown plenty of heart, and attacking ability, in these first seven matches, and of all the Premier League clubs, the Saints have had arguably the toughest schedule so far.
They have shown they can hang with top teams like Manchester City, and they will be desperate for a win this Saturday. They’ll play at a high tempo with lots of energy and will look to establish a hearty possession of the ball.
Before I get into how West Ham can get the 3 points, let’s just take a quick look at the squad heading into the weekend.
Firstly, Ricardo Vaz Te has been ruled out for 3 months following shoulder surgery. This puts West Ham in an interesting position, as Vaz Te has really grown into his role on the right flank.
His pace, flair, and attacking mentality will have to be adequately replaced if West Ham is to take the initiative and exploit the space left by Southampton. Personally, it’s simply got to be Benayoun. He’s expressed his desire to play regularly at West Ham, and his desire to stay with West Ham for at least the full year.
In the brief cameos we’ve seen of our former favourite, he’s shown he’s still creative and dangerous, pushing up to support the forward and often cutting inside to really confuse a defense and offer another goal scoring threat. I think he’d do well against a porous Saints defense, and it could be a great way to get the Israeli in the groove for the coming 3 months while Vaz Te is out.
Who knows, maybe Yossi could cement his place in the team and really enhance our attack.
All that being said, West Ham simply have to score first. If they can do that, and not concede an equalizer immediately, then that opens up Southampton to be hit on the break repeatedly as they continue to push forward in search of goals.
West Ham also needs to focus on busting up Southampton’s moves before they reach our backline (the vast majority of Southampton’s goals have come from inside the six-yard box), so Noble and Diame are really going to have to put in a good shift in both holding the ball and breaking up the play from the Saints.
In the end, it’ll be up to the players to execute the (familiar) gameplan, and up to the manager to be able to adapt if things don’t go well early on.
Even with Vaz Te out, and our injury doubts to Reid and Demel, our squad is looking good, and we should have enough about us to see us get the 3 points.
I’ll go with a 2-1 win for the claret and blue. Come on you Irons!
Team News
West Ham United (8th, 11pts)
Allardyce is will assess the fitness of defenders Winston Reid and Guy Demel who have been struggling with injury recently.
Ricardo Vaz Te will miss out as he begins a three month stint on the sidelines after having surgery on a dislocated shoulder, while midfielder Alou Diara is still recovering from a thigh problem.
Yossi Benayoun, Modibo Maiga and Gary O’Neil are all in contention to replace Vaz Te.
Southampton (17th, 4pts)
Record signing Gaston Ramirez is out with a thigh injury, while Jack Cork will also miss out with a leg problem.
Nathaniel Clyne is expected to feature after recovering from a leg injury that saw him sit out of England’s u21 match against Serbia in the week.
The Match in Numbers
11 – West Ham’s last league victory over Southampton came exactly 11 years ago when Frederic Kanoute scored twice in a 2-0 win at Upton Park on 20 October 2001.
0 – Southampton are yet to collect any points on their travels this season.
20 – The Saints have conceded 20 goals in their opening seven league games this season, more than any other top-flight side.
11 – Adkins’ side have dropped eleven points from winning positions so far this campaign.
88 – West Ham scored 88% of their goals in the first half this season, which is a Premier League high.
4 – Adam Lallana has made four assists so far this season, which is a joint high with Chelsea duo Eden Hazard and Juan Mata.
3 – Southampton have scored three own goals already this season.
32 – Hammers keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen has made 32 saves in the Premier League, which is a divisional high.
109 – West Ham have committed 109 fouls so far in the top-flight, which is the highest in the division.
18 – West Ham also picked up 18 yellow cards already this season, which is another Premier League high.
Head-to-Head (all competitions)
West Ham United – 36
Drawn – 27
Southampton – 30
