Southampton vs West Ham United Predictions

• Fewer than three goals have been scored in six of Southampton’s last nine Premier Lague matches
• Fewer than three goals have been scored in four of West Ham’s last seven league contests
• Teams coached by new Saints boss Ivan Juric in Italy had solid defensive records
• West Ham have not won at St Mary’s since 2019, losing one and drawing three of their last four trips

Juric to address Saints’ poor defensive record

Southampton are capable of frustrating West Ham on Boxing Day in much the same way they did Fulham when they claimed only their sixth point of the Premier League season on Sunday.

Saints’ appointment of Ivan Juric as their new head coach speaks volumes about where they felt they needed to improve the most. His Torino side had the fourth-best defensive record in Serie A last season and was among the top five for fewest goals conceded in each of his two previous seasons in charge.

It is unlikely that he will be able to have a huge influence on a Southampton side that shipped five against Tottenham in their last home game in a short space of time, but he will have seen a few positive signs in Sunday’s goalless draw at Craven Cottage.

Hammers are hardly rattling them in

Aaron Ramsdale was excellent on his return to the team after a finger injury and Southampton’s expected goals against of just over one was their smallest recorded since the opening weekend of the season.

Scoring goals had become a big problem for the team under Russell Martin and that trend continued on Sunday as Saints failed to score for an eighth game of the campaign. They forced Bernd Leno into only one meaningful save and struggled to create much of note, despite enjoying 43% possession.

West Ham have scored in six consecutive Premier League games since back-to-back blanks against Nottingham Forest and Everton in November. But Julen Lopetegui’s side have only managed multiple goals in six of their 17 matches and only once scored more than two goals in a game.

Back this one to be short on goals

The loss of Michail Antonio to a long-term injury means Lopetegui is lacking depth in attack and that may mean some key men are going to have to play every minute over the busy Christmas period.

Captain Jarrod Bowen has managed just one goal and an assist in his last five games, all of which were for the full 90 minutes, and he recorded only 26 touches in one of his quietest displays of the campaign against Brighton last time out.

That 1-1 draw was West Ham’s second in succession and the fourth game in their last seven to not see a third goal. Backing fewer than three goals in this clash looks like a solid play given six of Southampton’s last nine in the league have also featured fewer than three strikes, plus the potential influence of Juric’s methods tightening up Southampton’s defence.