West Ham are in the perfect position to not get ahead of themselves. With Leicester City gunning for the title, the Hammers have gone about their business in fine form whilst all the focus is towards the Foxes at the top of the league.
In a way, this is ideal for the Irons as there is a lack of pressure going into games at this point in the season. The Hammers have set themselves up perfectly for a top half finish but Slaven Bilic will naturally want to aim higher.
A trip to St Mary’s this evening is a tough fixture. Although the Hammers are flying, the Saints have been in fantastic form of late, winning three of their last four league games. The signing of Charlie Austin is a huge boost for them and he provides a real goalscoring threat in a team that plays good football and is well organised.
West Ham sit five points clear of the seventh-placed Saints, meaning a win today could open up a sizeable gap between the European places and the rest of the top half. Although we mustn’t be getting ahead of ourselves, a win at St Mary’s would give the squad all the belief they need to chase Europe.
A big plus for West Ham is the current form of Michail Antonio. Not only does he work his socks off for the team, his ability to find the back of the net at important times is a huge bonus for the Hammers. He’ll be up against Ryan Bertrand today and although the former Chelsea man is good going forward, he may struggle against the power and pace of Antonio.
The likes of Mark Noble, Alex Song and Cheikou Kouyate have performed well as a midfield trio in the past few matches. Although the Hammers were playing against 10 men for most of the game against a side bottom of the league, it was good to see Kouyate playing slightly in front of Noble and Song, getting forward to support the attack.
Mark Noble was in fine form against Aston Villa
If West Ham can remain strong in midfield once again, the Saints will find it difficult to get through Bilic’s side. In the past five league meetings between both sides, there have been four draws and a 1-0 win for Southampton. This could be a similarly even affair once again.
Slaven Bilic does have a couple of tricks up his sleeve, however. The West Ham attack is looking strong once again. Andy Carroll is fit to play and we all know how capable he is of punishing Southampton. He was superb in the Hammers’ home victory against Koeman’s side, scoring the winner and causing problems for their defence all afternoon.
New signing Emmanuel Emenike will be hungry to make an impression as he aims to run out for the Hammers for the first time this evening. His movement, pace and power is enough to cause any defender a host of issues and if the striker is in the mood, he will be a constant threat.
With the likes of Diafra Sakho and Manuel Lanzini closing in on a return to the first team, a win this afternoon would set the Hammers up perfectly for an end-of-season charge for Europe.
With a hungry side led by a classy manager, there really is no limit for the Hammers.
