West Ham Untied FC v Southampton

West Ham United FC v Southampton


Barclays Premier League
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 20 October




TEAM NEWS

West Ham defenders Winston Reid and Guy Demel face fitness tests on back and thigh injuries respectively.

Ricardo Vaz Te has had surgery on a dislocated shoulder and been ruled out for three months.

Southampton are without Gaston Ramirez for at least a month due to problems relating to a dead leg he suffered before the international break.

Danny Butterfield, Jack Cork, Tadanari Lee and Frazer Richardson are out, but Nathaniel Clyne could return.
MATCH PREVIEW

Side-by-side for most of last season in the Championship, it was Southampton who stayed the distance to clinch automatic promotion while West Ham had to take the harder, if more glamorous, route via the play-off final at Wembley.

And yet it's the Hammers that have adapted to life in the top-flight more impressively. They sit eighth in the table with three wins under their belt already, while the Saints are just one place and a point above the relegation zone.
LAWRO'S PREDICTION
Mark Lawrenson
Football Analyst

"West Ham boss Sam Allardyce will have Andy Carroll fully fit and raring to go and he will see this game as being three points for the taking. After watching Southampton draw with Fulham, I have to say that although the Saints are good going forward, defensively they are poor."
Read Lawro's full prediction and score

I was at St Mary's to commentate on their only victory, a brilliant second-half display in which they brushed aside Aston Villa to win 4-1. That kind of attacking flair is what offers hope to manager Nigel Adkins.

Southampton look like they'll always score goals; his concern is that they seem even more prone to letting them in. Twenty goals conceded so far means they have the worst defensive record in the Premier League - 12 of those have come in their three away games.

Trips to Manchester City, Arsenal and Everton were always going to be challenging but on their day, in their own way, West Ham can be just as destructive. Ask Fulham. Andy Carroll terrified their defence at Upton Park on his debut and, now fully-fit again, the England striker will test Southampton's rickety backline.

It's a shame for the Saints that club-record signing Gaston Ramirez will be missing for the next month with a thigh injury, meaning much of the creative responsibility will fall on the shoulders of Adam Lallana.

If he's up to the task, and if Rickie Lambert can get a few sights of goal, Southampton could finally pick up their first away point or points of the season.
MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
In their meetings in the Championship last season, the Saints won 1-0 at St Mary's and drew 1-1 at Upton Park.
Southampton won on their last visit to West Ham in the Premier League, but it was only their second victory in 10 visits to Upton Park in the division.
This is the 96th meeting between the sides. West Ham have won 36 times, Southampton 32, and there have been 27 draws.

West Ham
West Ham have scored 88% of their goals in the first half of matches this season.
The Hammers have committed the most fouls (109) and earned the most cards (18) so far this season.
Carlton Cole has the lowest pass completion rate (42%) in an opponent's half of any Premier League player this season.

Southampton
Southampton have dropped 11 points from winning positions this season, the most in the Premier League. If they had won those points, the Saints would be second in the table.
They have four points from their first seven Premier League matches, the same as they had when they were last in the division in 2004-05. They went on to finish bottom and were relegated.
The Saints have attempted fewer long passes (268) than any other team in the Premier League this season.