Mark Lawrenson predicts winner in West Ham clash v Southampton
Mark Lawrenson believes that West Ham will be beaten when they travel to the south coast to play high-flying Southampton on Tuesday.
The BBC Sport pundit believes that the Hammers will lose 2-0 at St Mary’s after underwhelming in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Brighton.
While doing his weekly predictions for BBC Sport, Lawrenson claimed that the Saints’ returning players could prove to be the difference.
He said, “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.”
Tuesday’s game will be the second match in 48 hours for David Moyes’ side after sharing the points in their London Stadium clash against Brighton.
Hammers fans will be hoping for a better performance when their side take on another south coast team.
The Saints sit just one place and three points above the Irons in the Premier League table after both sides impressed in the early stages of the season.
Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side laboured to a 0-0 draw against newly-promoted Fulham on Boxing Day and the timing of this fixture means the Saints have had an extra 24 hours to prepare for Tuesday’s game.
This undoubtedly gives Southampton a significant advantage going into the game but if the Hammers can improve on their performance against Brighton then a positive result is certainly achievable.
In other West Ham news, our view on Moyes selection error against Brighton.