"Andy Carroll will give the newly formed Saints’ central defensive partnership a real test and he will be supplied by Robert Snodgrass."
Back West Ham @ 4.80
Southampton v West Ham
Saturday February 4, 15:00 GMT

Southampton

The Saints may be through to the final of the EFL Cup but they are in miserable form in the Premier League and they were dumped out of the FA Cup in a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal.
Claude Puel's side were beaten at the struggling, Swansea, on Tuesday and that was their fifth defeat in six matches. 

They did beat Leicester during that run, but the champions are having their own issues and, perhaps the most worrying thing for Southampton is that they conceded plenty of goals during that period.

Things won't be any easier at the back this week as Virgil van Dijk has been ruled out for two to three months. With the experienced Jose Fonte likely lining up against his former team on Saturday, Saints' fans will be wondering what happened to their once rock-solid defence.

West Ham

The Hammers will just be pleased to not be playing Manchester City this weekend as they were beaten 4-0 by them at home on Wednesday and that came only four weeks after they were thrashed 5-0 by them on the same ground in the FA Cup.

Slaven Bilić's have been very hit or miss this year but they seem to be finding their stride on their travels as they've lost just one of their last five away from the London Stadium, and that includes two wins from their three latest outings.

As mentioned above, Jose Fonte, has joined the Irons in the January transfer window, as did Robert Snodgrass, who may be set for his first start as a West Ham player at St Mary's.

Match Odds 

Southampton 1.90 West Ham 4.80 The Draw 3.75
The Betfair layers have the hosts as odds-on for this one but I can't agree with that. Southampton aren't anywhere near their best at present and their injury hit squad have already played plenty of matches this year as they were in the Europa League and have also reached the League Cup Final.

The value has to be in the visitors as despite their unreliability, at 4.80, they are worth taking a chance on. Andy Carroll will give the newly formed Saints' central defensive partnership a real test and he will be supplied by Robert Snodgrass.

The Hammers netted three times in their 3-1 win at the Riverside a fortnight ago and they also put four past Swansea at the Liberty on Boxing Day. Their goal-scoring prowess was also on show in a 2-2 draw at Anfield and while they ended up losing the match, they were beating Spurs 2-1 at White Hart Lane with only two minutes to go in November.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals 

Over 2.5 Goals 2.08 Under 2.5 Goals 1.92
Another market where I disagree with the odds is this one as I would have them the other way round. I've already written about West Ham's goal-scoring record and it's also worth noting that only five other Premier League teams have conceded more.

Southampton have had their issues with their forward options but they still netted three times against Leicester on their latest outing in front of their own fans and they have now scored in each of their last five at home.

I have huge concerns about their defence however as, on paper at least, it looks the weakest it has for a number of years, and Spurs scored four times here at the end of December and West Brom helped themselves to two last month.

I want something at an even bigger price than 2.08 though so I'm going to risk the extra goal and back over 3.5 at around the 3.80 mark. A selection which would have landed in three of West Ham's last four away games and two of Southampton's last six in all competitions at home.

Recommended Bets
Back West Ham @ 4.80
Back Over 3.5 Goals @ 3.80


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