West Ham will be looking to improve on last weekend’s very poor opening performance against Manchester United. They were beaten 4-0 in their opener, giving a very poor performance and being rewarded with an equally poor result. Southampton will have been disappointed to not find a way past Swansea in their opener, they drew 0-0 with them in their first game.
Premier League – Saturday 19th August – 15:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 11/4 at Betfred |
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Southampton
West HamThese two will both be expecting to finish mid-table at least this season, and both have the potential to be challenging for higher than that. West Ham need to settle down and perform while Southampton need to be more clinical in front of goal if they are to win the game.
Southampton Form
I don’t think Southampton will be too disappointed with the way they played last weekend, although in front of goal they were poor. When they did manage to get a good effort on target they were denied by good goalkeeping, but on the whole they wasted a lot of chances.
That is something that needs to improve if Southampton are to challenge for a top half finish this season. The Premier League was very tight last season and in the middle of the table, every point matters. Should Southampton continue to fail to score then the draws they are having instead of victories could add up and cost them at the end of the season.
Southampton don’t need to vastly improve their performance, but they do need to be better in front of goal.
West Ham Form
Not many teams will go to Old Trafford and beat Manchester United but the performance that West Ham put in will have really disappointed their fans. They never looked like having a chance of getting into the game and defending poorly, giving Manchester United a lot of chances. This weekend won’t be as tough but the fans will demand to see better.
I am expecting West Ham to eventually finish mid-table, maybe even better due to the signings they have made this summer. Those players may take time to settle, but they do have Premier League experience so it shouldn’t take them too long.
I also don’t think it will be too long until we see West Ham further strengthen the team and bring in more players to the club, which is good in the long run but right now won’t help the squad settle.
Team News
Southampton need to find a successful strike partnership that will give them goals so I expect to see them make changes in that area. Both Charlie Austin and Shane Long were on the bench last weekend, I expect to see at least one of those given a starting spot this weekend. Manolo Gabbiadini has now gone nine games without a goal so he may be the one to give way.
I don’t think West Ham are going to do too much in terms of changes this weekend. Their two new players to the back line, goalkeeper Joe Hart and full back Pablo Zabaleta are full of experience and although they are new to the club, their experience is going to be vital. They need to help their team mates pull together and recover from the bad start. They have enough talent in attack to create some chances and should find it easier to create those against lesser opposition in Southampton.
Top Betting Tips
Both these teams need to improve on last weekend’s performances and it will be interesting to see how they play. Southampton only need to improve how they are in front of goal and I am expecting to see them make changes to try and freshen things up. West Ham however need to improve in every area of the pitch, especially in defence and the experienced players back there need to help.
I am going to side with Southampton in the game, I am expecting them to be better in front of goal and be able to score past West Ham. If they can do that then I think they can win the game, although only by a small score line. I am going to back Southampton to win the game 1-0, which is available at 13/2 with William Hill and Ladbrokes. This offers good value, West Ham will be interested in being better defensively so I think they may setup a little too defensive to sort that out. Southampton need to be better in front of goal, but I think they will and they will get the odd goal to win the game.