David Moyes’ struggling West Ham United side have had to deal with an extremely strenuous month of league action throughout February and will finish the period with a visit from Southampton this weekend. The Hammers’ most recent match saw them score twice against the runaway league leaders Liverpool, in a fixture where they were unfortunate not to pick up at least a point for their efforts.
Despite some positive signs over the last couple of weeks, the fact remains that Moyes has failed to deliver a victory after the 4-0 destruction of Bournemouth on New Year’s day. Southampton, on the other hand, picked up an impressive 2-0 win against Aston Villa the last time around, and will surely be hoping to build on that positive result. With the two sides separated on the table by a whole ten points, the Hammers will do well to cut that gap down by picking up a victory in this fixture.
Team News
The most frustrating aspect of the weekend game against Liverpool for West Ham fans would surely have been the untimely injury picked up by winter acquisition Tomas Soucek. The midfielder is expected to remain sidelined for up to three weeks owing to a hip problem. Ryan Fredericks, Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere are more key West Ham United names that have been ruled out of contention for this fixture.
Predicted 4-2-3-1 West Ham United Lineup Vs Southampton
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Defence
Since Lukasz Fabianski’s return from injury, the Polish custodian has looked like a rock at the back for the Hammers and continues to play an important role in the back-line at the London Stadium. Issa Diop was one of the scorers for Moyes’ side on the weekend and should keep his place alongside Angelo Ogbonna. Aaron Cresswell and young Jeremy Ngakia are expected to take up the full-back positions.
Midfield
Tomas Soucek was deployed in one of the midfield pivot slots by Moyes last weekend, which allowed Mark Noble to take up a much more advanced position. With the former now back on the treatment table, expect Noble to drop back into his deep role, alongside young Englishman Declan Rice. In front of him, Pablo Fornals could come back into the team this week, with Jarrod Bowen and Robert Snodgrass supporting him in the front-line.
Attack
Sebastian Haller has been extremely underwhelming since the start of the campaign, and it’s no surprise that David Moyes has preferred to utilise Michael Antonio in the attacking position. The speedster provides a degree of energy that has been found lacking whenever Haller starts, and the Englishman is set to keep his place as the main striker in this West Ham United team for another week.
