Southampton v West Ham United
Southampton's punishment for being prematurely dumped out of the FA Cup by lower league opposition was a weekend off and five days 'training' in the La Manga sunshine - a better reward than a fourth round tie against Crewe some might argue! But after a testing fixture list, Gordon Strachan will be seeking to relax his players ahead of this encounter with West Ham.
The Saints' last five Premiership clashes have all been against the division's current crop of title-chasers and few would have imagined that the south coast outfit would have picked up seven valuable points from that potential minefield.
Victories over Chelsea and Liverpool were followed by a draw at Anfield and the club have now been hoisted to the veritable safety of 14th in the table, just two points adrift of the Hammers.
Glenn Roeder had the displeasure of witnessing his side systematically dismantled at Stamford Bridge last time out in the league, although a credible 1-1 draw at the same venue in the cup last weekend will have restored some confidence. In addition, the visitors have a decent record against the Saints and have won the last three meetings in succession.
Freddie Kanoute has been the main difference between the two sides of late. The French ace struck a brace in West Ham's 2-0 win at Upton Park back in October and also notched a goal in each of the corresponding league fixtures last season. The former Lyon striker has battled against injury this term, but has played a part in the last six consecutive games - scoring the equaliser against Chelsea - and should be fit for selection on Wednesday night, much to the hosts despair.
Strachan is without his primary target man after joint top scorer James Beattie dislocated his ankle against Manchester United and having netted in four of the club's last six outings, he will be sorely missed. But Marian Pahars is no slouch and he has accounted for 37% of Southampton's goal tally this season, making him one to watch out for at St Mary's.
The two sides have hit the back of the net with equal regularity in 2001-02, with the visitors attempting just four more shots than their opponents and registering a marginally better accuracy. The duo's respective goals against columns imply that opportunities could be frequent - only Derby County have conceded more than either side - but such similar records suggest that a stalemate could ensue. Online bookmakers surreySPORTS are quoting odds of 8/1 on a goalless draw.
Although the fact that the hosts have yet to be embroiled in a scoreless affair this term and the Hammers have not experienced such a drab scoreline since the second week of the season, means that the crowd may not be starved of goals.
Mark Willis
Match referee: P. Dowd
Phil Dowd heads the pack and is currently the strictest referee in the top flight, so with six red cards between them, Southampton and West Ham have been warned. The official dismissed two players during his Premiership debut at Craven Cottage and has felt the wrath of disgruntled managers on more than one occasion this term.
Referee's Name FoulsPenaltiesYellow CardsRed CardsAve
Disc pointsP. Dowd 45 0 5 2 72.00
PLAYER HEAD-TO-HEAD
click below for in-depth comparisonSvensson v Carrick
TEAM NEWS
Matthew Oakley is expected to return to Southampton's midfield for the game for the suspended Chris Marsden. Republic of Ireland international Rory Delap is still absent after failing to recover from a calf problem, while striker James Beattie is out with damaged ankle ligaments.
Striker Brett Ormerod is very doubtful with a knee injury, while defender Tahar El Khalej is not yet fully fit following a torn shoulder ligament.
West Ham's Trevor Sinclair is doubtful with the ankle injury he sustained against Chelsea two weeks ago. Recent signing Vladimir Labant could make his full debut in defence after impressing as a substitute during the 1-1 draw against the Blues in the FA Cup last weekend.
MATCH BETTING
click on links below to place a wager
Match Result
Southampton 11/10
Draw 12/5
West Ham 15/8
Double Result
Southampton/Southampton 5/2
Southampton/Draw 16/1
Southampton/West Ham 33/1
Draw/Southampton 4/1
Draw/Draw 4/1
Draw/West Ham 11/2
West Ham/Southampton 28/1
West Ham/Draw 16/1
West Ham/West Ham 4/1
Correct Score
Southampton 1-0 6/1
Southampton 2-0 8/1
Southampton 2-1 7/1
Southampton 3-0 16/1
Southampton 3-1 16/1
Southampton 3-2 25/1
Southampton 4-0 40/1
Southampton 4-1 33/1
Southampton 4-2 50/1
Southampton 5-0 100/1
Southampton 5-1 100/1
Draw 0-0 8/1
Draw 1-1 6/1
Draw 2-2 16/1
Draw 3-3 50/1
West Ham 1-0 7/1
West Ham 2-0 12/1
West Ham 2-1 10/1
West Ham 3-0 33/1
West Ham 3-1 25/1
West Ham 3-2 28/1
West Ham 4-0 100/1
West Ham 4-1 80/1
West Ham 4-2 80/1
West Ham 5-0 100/1
West Ham 5-1 100/1
First Goalscorer
M Pahars 9/2
K Davies 11/2
A Delgado 11/2
A Svensson 9/1
M Le Tissier 12/1
F Fernandes 14/1
J Tessem 16/1
M Oakley 16/1
R Delap 20/1
D Petrescu 25/1
P Telfer 28/1
W Bridge 28/1
J Dodd 33/1
C Lundekvam 50/1
P Williams 66/1
No Goalscorer 8/1
F Kanoute 11/2
J Defoe 6/1
P Di Canio 7/1
P Kitson 7/1
D Hutchison 12/1
J Cole 16/1
M Carrick 16/1
T Sinclair 16/1
S Lomas 20/1
S Moncur 20/1
Courtois 20/1
S Minto 33/1
S Schmemel 33/1
R Soma 33/1
N Winterburn 40/1
C Dailly 50/1
T Repka 50/1
H Foxe 50/1
S Potts 66/1
For all these bets + much more go now to surreySPORTS.co.uk
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