West Ham United will take on Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium this Sunday as they look to return to winning ways in the Premier League. The Hammers come into the match on the back of a narrow 2-1 victory against Anderlecht in the Europa League contest, so they will be looking to produce a better result in this Premier League encounter.
David Moyes could set his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to make a host of changes to the playing XI. Hence, we can expect to see Gianluca Scamacca lead the charge for the East London club as he returns to the final third.
4-2-3-1 West Ham United Predicted XI Vs Southampton
Defence
Łukasz Fabiański will function in between the sticks for the Hammers after he conceded a goal against the Toffees in his last league outing. Kurt Zouma will form a defensive partnership with Ben Johnson at the heart of West Ham’s backline as they look to stop the Saints from finding the back of the net throughout the game.
Vladimír Coufal will operate as the right-back while Aaron Cresswell fills in on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will get the license to get forward and join in on the attack at every chance they get.
Emerson Palmieri will offer cover for the left-back spot on the bench. However, Angelo Ogbonna will remain doubtful in this contest.
Midfield
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek will assume the duties of the holding midfielders as they look to offer decent protection for their teammates at the back and also dominate the possession at the centre of the park.
The gifted trio of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Pablo Fornals will play just ahead of them as part of Moyes’ attack. Both Fornals and Bowen will be responsible for creating some clear-cut chances from the wide areas while Paqeuta looks to make some decisive passes in front of the goal.
Said Benrahma will have to be content with a spot on the bench as he waits for his opportunity to make an impact in the final quarter of the game if needed.
Attack
Gianluca Scamacca will spearhead West Ham’s attack in the final third. The Italian forward has to figure out a way to cause a few problems for Southampton’s centre-halves this weekend.
Michail Antonio will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the latter stages if the Hammers are in need of a goal by then.
