Premier League Preview: Southampton - West Ham


Mauricio Pochettino's side will look to make it four straight Premier League victories to reach the 40-point mark when it welcomes the Hammers to St. Mary's on Saturday.

Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino has a fully fit squad to pick from as the Saints look to continue their fine run of form and boost their chances of a previously unlikely finish in the top half.

Midfielder Adam Lallana will be pushing for a starting role after making a goalscoring return from injury last week at the Madejski Stadium, while Jay Rodriguez will be aiming to hit the back of the net for the fourth game running.
Sam Allardyce has targeted one more victory to guarantee the Hammers' Premier League survival, but the West Ham boss will be once again without Joe Cole, George McCartney, Winston Reid and Mark Noble because of injuries.

Coming off the back of good results against Liverpool (0-0) and West Brom (3-1), West Ham is currently 12th, only behind the Saints on goal difference but with a game in hand.

Andy Carroll is likely to return to the side in place of Carlton Cole, having been ineligible to face his parent club last time out, but Allardyce admitted he is facing a "dilemma" over which striker to play in the lone role up front after Cole impressed at Anfield.
  • Southampton has been winning at halftime its lastthree matches in the Premier League and went on to win each game.
  • Only three players in the top five European leagues have fashioned as many goalscoring chances from open play as Rickie Lambert (pictured right) this season, who is also the Premier League's leading English goalscorer with 14.
  • Overall, the two teams have met on 94 occasions in league and cup -- 37 of those have gone the way of West Ham, 30 have resulted in Saints wins and 27 in draws.
  • West Ham has scored just nine goals on the road in the Premier League this season, tied for the lowest tally along with Stoke City.
  • The Hammers have failed to win 10 of their last 11 away matches in the Premier League.
  • Only bottom-of-the-table Reading has lost more away games (13) than West Ham's 10, a record the Hammers share with Newcastle and QPR.

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