Southampton and West Ham will look to carry on their respective seasons with a win on Saturday.

Both sides have had very different starts to the season, with West Ham having two wins and one draw in three. Whereas Southampton have two draws and one loss. Here are our predicted line-ups for the tie.

Goalkeepers

Southampton's goalkeeper is sure to be Alex McCarthy, with him starting all three Premier League games. He is looking to be the Saints' number one goalkeeper, with them not strenghthening that area in the summer.

West Ham's goalkeeper situation has changed over the past month, with World Cup winner Alphonse Areola coming into the side, Lukasz Fabianski's place is in jeopardy. Moyes could turn to Areola to start his first game for West Ham.

Defenders

Valentino Livramento should carry on his season at right-back, the young defender has impressed many with his solid performances against Manchester United and Newcastle.

The obvious decision for West Ham is Vladimir Coufal. The Czech had a fantastic season in 2020/21 and is now a certified starter for David Moyes' side, what a bargain.

Southampton's two centre backs will be Mohammed Salisu and Jack Stephens. The two have started all three games this season, conceding six. The experienced Jan Bednarek could be in contention, but Ralph Hassenhuttl will look to embed consistency into his squad.

The arrival of Chelsea ace Kurt Zouma has put a question mark over the centre back pairing, which could be Angelo Ogbonna and Zouma, with Craig Dawson just missing out. Zouma was Moyes' top target and wants him to get involved as quick as possible.

The left-back position is taken up by Kyle Walker-Peters for the past two games, with Livramento becoming the starting right-back, Walker-Peters looks to the other side of the defense. 

Aaron Cresswell is one of the most consistent players at West Ham, with him definitely starting on Saturday. His set pieces are lethal and Moyes' would want to exploit the Saints sometimes weak defense.

 

 

Midfield

Southampton's classic but trusty 4-4-2 could continue on Saturday, with James Ward-Prowse and Oriel Romeu starting in the centre. Mousa Djenepo and a surprising Mohamed Elyounoussi could start on the right flank, scoring against Newcastle last game. Their solid midfield will be hard to break down, and need to be careful of free-kicks on the edge of the area, Ward-Prowse territory.

West Ham's midfield two consists of star-boy Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek. The two are unbelievable at what they do and create a well balanced midfield together. Definite no changes to the midfield, despite the arrival of Czech international Alex Kral on loan. 

Forwards

The Saints' two striker formation allows both Adam Armstrong and Che Adams to play together. The pacey strikers are a nuisance for every teams defence, getting in behind and creating chances. Since the departure of their star player Danny Ings, they have had to find alternatives. With former Blackburn man Armstrong, who has one goal in three games, with a penalty win to add to that.

West Ham’s front 4 is nothing to be surprised by, the deadly quad have ripped it up this season, with Michail Antonio being the main man up front. Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen being the men behind him. This front line is wonderful, adding to that is Nikola Vlasic who West Ham signed in the summer transfer window. 

Predicted line-ups:

Southampton - McCarthy; Livramento, Stephens, Salisu, Walker-Peters, Djenepo, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi, Adams, Armstrong

West Ham - Areola; Coufal, Ogbonna, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen,  Fornals, Benrahma, Antonio

 

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