BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson is confident that Southampton will be able to get back to their best form in their meeting with West Ham this evening following their goalless draw at Fulham on Saturday.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side were without three of their most influential performers and the spine of their side with Jannik Vestergaard, Danny Ings and Oriol Romeu all out of action at Craven Cottage. The Saints left west London frustrated but they still had their moments, especially when James Ward-Prowse had a free kick tipped onto the woodwork.
Southampton will be aiming to get back to winning ways when they host West Ham and Hasenhuttl will be able to call upon Romeu once again after his return from suspension. That means the Saints will have an added physical presence in midfield which they lacked at Fulham.
Making his latest round of Premier League predictions for BBC Sport, Lawrenson has suggested that the return of Romeu will be a massive boost for the Saints when they take on the Irons, believing that they looked a little subdued against Fulham. He expects Southampton to have too much for West Ham and come out 2-0 winners, saying:
Southampton were a bit subdued in their draw with Fulham, but they were missing some key men in Oriol Romeu, Jannik Vestergaard and Danny Ings.
Vestergaard is out for a while by the sounds of things and the quicker Ings is fit, the better. At least Romeu will return in midfield after his suspension though.
I was a little bit surprised by the West Ham team that David Moyes put out against Brighton, and they didn’t start well either.
The Hammers still got something out of that game, but I think they will find things a lot harder against Saints.
Read Southampton verdict
This has the makings of a crucial game for the Saints, who will want to regain momentum and show that they are able to win matches without Ings and Vestergaard. A win would also see them pull six points clear of their opponents and close in on the top four in the Premier League.
That would allow them to continue to look up the table towards the European places, but West Ham have been something of a bogey team for Southampton in the last few years, winning the last five meetings between the sides. Therefore, it will be vital that the Saints put that unwanted sequence to bed and lay down a marker against the Hammers.
This hectic fixture period is always a measure of a team’s fitness and battling qualities. The Saints would like to go out and show that they have those in plentiful supply and have the advantage of an extra days’ rest, having played on Saturday whereas the Irons hosted Brighton on Sunday.
