Southampton entertain West Ham United on Boxing Day
Southampton do battle with West Ham United on Boxing Day and as such, now is an excellent time to register with any of our featured UK betting sites where you can benefit from the best Premier League free bets and latest Southampton versus West Ham United odds.
Southampton v West Ham United Odds & Match Preview
Kick-off: 3pm UK Time, Thursday 26th December 2024
It’s the start of a new era for Premier League strugglers Southampton when new boss Ivan Juric takes charge for the first time against visitors West Ham United on Boxing Day.
Doomed
The former AS Roma manager cast an interested eye over Southampton’s goal-less stalemate with Fulham at Craven Cottage and the new manager bounce may already have been in evidence as the Saints added one more point to their measly total of five. This draw came hot on the heels of an exit from the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage against Liverpool, the south-coast side giving a decent account of themselves against the Premier League leaders. Nevertheless, Southampton were always doomed to fail in their head-to-head with the Reds and the consensus is that their Premier League status will come to an end at the close of the current campaign. The goal-shy Saints have failed to add to the scoreline in each of their last three top-flight outings although the visit of West Ham United gives the hosts a chance to end this drought.
Shored up
West Ham United head into this clash on the back of a three-match unbeaten run and this has resulted in the calls for manager Julen Lopetegui’s sacking to quieten down. The Hammers currently sit in 14th position in the league standings and while the former UEFA Europa Conference League champions aren’t out of the woods just yet, they are eight points clear of the relegation line and just two adrift of Manchester United. The East London outfit haven’t lost to a side sitting at the foot of the Premier League table since 2015 but they will struggle without two of their main threats up-front in the form of Paqueta and Antonio. The Saints have shored things up at the back following the departure of Russell Martin and all things considered, we envisage that the home side will force the visitors to settle for a share of the spoils in this one.
Back a draw and both teams to score at best odds of 7/2
