Southampton vs West Ham United Match Preview: Classic Encounter, Team News, Potential Lineups & More

Southampton welcome West Ham to St. Mary's on Saturday, where they will hope to secure three points from a Hammers side who were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester

Southampton welcome West Ham to St. Mary's on Saturday, where they will hope to secure three points from a Hammers side who were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester United last Sunday.

New Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino will hope to get his first win for the south coast club after a disappointing 0-0 draw against Swansea City at home last week.

Hammers coach Slaven Bilic will also be keen to return to winning ways after a catastrophic league opener at Old Trafford. After labelling that game as a 'disaster result', Bilic will see Saturday's game as an opportunity for redemption.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the clash at St. Mary's.

Classic Encounter

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Key Battle

Both Southampton and West Ham were promoted from the Championship in 2012, with the Saints securing promotion as runners up to champions Reading, while West Ham went up via the playoffs.

In their first match-up in the top flight however, it was the Hammers who came out on top, beating Southampton 4-1 at Upton Park in October 2012. On the day Mark Noble bagged two goals while Kevin Nolan and Modibo Maiga also scored. Adam Lallana was the player to get one back for the Saints.

Along with Hammers captain Noble, Saints skipper Steven Davis also featured in that game. Both are still with their respective clubs and are likely to start on Saturday - but since that result much has changed, and bragging rights between the two clubs have been evenly distributed, with West Ham winning four encounters and the Saints winning three.

Team News
Prediction

Chicharito vs Jack Stephens & Maya Yoshida

West Ham failed to fully utilize Chicharito's abilities against Manchester United, with the striker often looking isolated and misused up front on his own. Bilic will surely look to make it is his side's primary aim to get balls into star signing Chicharito and feed into his proven poaching ability.

If the striker is used effectively he could prove a real handful for Southampton center-backs Jack Stephens and Maya Yoshida, who will have to find a way to stop the pacey forward getting in on goal.

Southampton boss Pellegrino has the luxury of having no injury concerns ahead of the tie. Speaking to the club's website, the manager said: "Everybody is ok, even Alex McCarthy. He has been playing Monday night in the U23 game. It’s good news for us, because everybody is ready for this game."

However the south coast club are still without unsettled defender Virgil van Dijk who is still at the heart of intense transfer speculation linking the player with a move away from the club.

It has been reported that Michail Antonio has returned from injury and it is expected that he will feature at some point against the Saints. Hammers trio Cheikhou Kouyate, Andy Carroll and Manuel Lanzini remain unavailable through injury.

Potential Southampton Starting Lineup: Forster; Soares, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand; Romeu, Davis, Lemina, Tadic, Redmond; Gabbiadini.

Potential West Ham Starting Lineup: Hart; Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Noble, Obiang, Antonio, Ayew, Arnautovic; Chicharito.

Both teams are fairly evenly matched on paper, both have England internationals between the sticks, long term club servants as skippers, and fast tricky wingers in Antonio and Redmond respectively.

Both teams have the ability to unlock the opposition, but with the home side failing to score at St. Mary's since April, and West Ham not in great form either, it's hard to see either team doing that.

Expect drama and excitement from the likes of Gabbiadini and Chicharito, but don't expect a conclusive scoreline.

Prediction: 1-1