West Ham United will look to end a disastrous sequence of performances and results that have left them in real trouble, when they face fellow Premier League strugglers Southampton in a potentially season-defining clash at the London Stadium on Saturday.
A 3-0 home defeat against Burnley at home last time out was their third in a row in the top flight by a three-goal margin, and was marred by crowd trouble as a handful of fans invaded the pitch.
The latest reverse came on the back of successive 4-1 losses on the road against Liverpool and Swansea City and has left the east London outfit in 17th position in the top flight standings, just two points above their 18th-placed opponents this weekend with eight matches remaining.
David Moyes took his side to Miami for a training camp during their three-week break without a fixture, and he will hope that the Irons have returned to England feeling fresh and having regained some of the confidence that drained out of them during the defeat against the Clarets.
The Scot will know the precarious situation the Hammers find themselves in right now, and considering they face Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City in their next five fixtures, the Saints encounter should be seen as must-win, or at least one that they can’t afford to lose.
The hosts may fancy their chances against Mark Hughes’ goal-shy team however, with the south coast outfit only netting 29 times in their 30 Premier League matches and being beaten 3-0 by Newcastle United at St James’ Park last time out – a result which saw Mauricio Pellegrino relieved of his duties.
Moyes stuck with a 3-4-2-1 formation for the visit of Sean Dyche’s men but made five changes to his XI, and as well as some enforced alterations he may want to mix things up a little for such an important match.
Here is how West Ham must line up when they host Southampton…
Moyes brought Joe Hart back into the XI between the sticks against Burnley for his first Premier League appearance since November, with Adrian struggling in the defeats against Liverpool and Swansea previously.
The Scottish boss now has another big decision to make ahead of the huge Southampton clash given Hart conceded three times against the Clarets, but he should choose to stick with the England international.
With James Collins set to miss out after he picked up a hamstring injury in the charity friendly against Dagenham & Redbridge last week, it leaves Moyes with Declan Rice, Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell as the back three.
Pablo Zabaleta and Michail Antonio started as the wing-backs against Burnley with the latter replacing Patrice Evra in the starting line-up, and while Antonio has done well in that position he should be playing further forward.
Arthur Masuaku returns from a six-match ban for this game and given Evra has struggled to make an impression, he must come straight into the starting line-up, with Zabaleta remaining on the right.
Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate will start in the middle, even though the Senegal international has come under criticism from the London Stadium faithful.
Manuel Lanzini and Joao Mario started behind Marko Arnautovic against Burnley but with the Argentina international a doubt for the clash against Southampton after picking up an injury on international duty, Moyes has a decision to make if he is absent.
Michail Antonio and Javier Hernandez could be in line to replace the 25-year-old in the starting XI, but the Scottish boss should go with the former and play him up top with Arnautovic – who scored three goals for Austria during the international break – with Joao Mario behind them.
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