The festive fixtures are coming thick and fast for West Ham United, who make the trip to Southampton on Boxing Day.
Julen Lopetegui’s side head to St Mary's Stadium undefeated in their last three outings following Saturday’s score draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, which saw Mohammed Kudus cancel out Mats Wieffer’s second-half opener at London Stadium.
On paper, a fixture at bottom-of-the-table Saints presents an enticing opportunity for the Hammers to chalk up their sixth league victory of the campaign, against a side who have won once all season in the Premier League.
But saying that, Southampton shored up their backline last time out and held Fulham to a goalless draw at Craven Cottage on Sunday, which was only their second clean sheet of the 2024/25 term.
And with this set to be Ivan Jurić’s first match in the Saints dug out, who knows what test his new-look side will pose, making this Fantasy Premier League (FPL) fixture an interesting one to call.
The Gameweek 18 transfer deadline is set for 11am GMT on Thursday 26 December, with the Hammers’ clash on the south coast kicking-off four hours later.
While we will be giving you FPL tips and tricks throughout the remainder of the 2024/25 season on whufc.com, see below for some of our picks for the upcoming round.
Also, don't forget to join the Official West Ham United FPL League by entering the code tezfax...
Kudus to make it two in two?
Kudus (£6.2m) was on target with his third Premier League goal of the season on Saturday and will look to make it two in two on the south coast. Lopetegui gave the 24-year-old all 90 minutes at London Stadium as he proved a handful for the Brighton backline, having been fouled five times.
The Ghana international has registered 36 shots and created 13 chances in 12 matches so far this term, and could provide you with a value-for-money midfielder in your team for the Boxing Day fixtures.
Alternatively, against the league’s lowest scorers, you may look towards the Claret and Blue’s defensive contingent for this Gameweek.
Łukasz Fabiański (£6.1m) made another five saves on Saturday which followed his superb eight-stop display at Bournemouth in the previous set of fixtures. The Poland international also kept a clean sheet when the two sides last met in the top flight, which saw the Hammers walk away with a 1-0 victory.
Elsewhere, Maximilian Kilman (£4.5m) continues to be ever-present in the Hammers backline and could prove a shrewd option for your team, while Lopetegui might opt to hand Ollie Scarles (£4.0m) a first Premier League start to share the load in the busy Christmas period.
Opposition Watch: Southampton
While he may not have hit the ground running in Southampton’s return to the top flight, Adam Armstrong (£5.1m) still provides a strong goal threat up front having netted 24 times and provided 13 assists in the Championship last term. The former Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers man has found the back of the net twice in the Premier League this campaign.
Summer signing Cameron Archer (£5.0m) has also been on target on two occasions, having netted three in the Carabao Cup this term, and came on at half-time in their draw with Fulham to play alongside Armstrong.
Alternatively, at the other end of the pitch, Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£4.1m) and Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.4m) will be looking to add to the eight and six points they picked up respectively in their clean sheet at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
