By Sam Stone

30th Mar, 2023 | 1:20pm

Paul Merson predicts result of West Ham United Premier League clash v Southampton

Paul Merson has backed West Ham United to beat Southampton 2-0 when the two sides meet on Sunday afternoon at the London Stadium.

David Moyes’ men could fall to the foot of the table with a defeat or pull themselves up to 13th position in the league standings with a victory.

Merson feels the Hammers will secure a vital win and ease the mounting pressure on Moyes’ shoulders.

“Wow, this is a huge game! A victory can get you so far out of the relegation battle, and you can jump four places. Southampton got a good result against Tottenham but if they lose here, they’ll be in big trouble,” said Merson (Sportkeeda predictions, 30 March).

“West Ham turned up and produced an impressive performance against Nottingham Forest. This is a cup final, and I’m going to go with a West Ham victory this weekend. West Ham United 2-0 Southampton.”

Huge

This feels similar to the Nottingham Forest clash for Moyes. Failure to win could see the West Ham boss reach an untenable position at the London Stadium. The club is in a perilous position at present and a run of wins is desperately required from now until the end of the season.

Due to the close-knit nature of the Premier League table at present, two or three wins could see the Hammers clear of trouble. This is a position nobody anticipated at the start of the season with the board looking to build on the stellar 2021/22 campaign.

Southampton are coming off a battling point against Tottenham Hotspur and know they simply have to win to keep pace with the rest of the teams at the foot of the table.

The Saints have played two games more than the Hammers and will be looking to move out of the bottom three with a win on Sunday (2 April).