Southampton vs West Ham United Prediction: Goals may be in short supply at St Mary’s

Bottom of the Premier League pile at Christmas and with just one win in 17 attempts, the cards now appear to be firmly stacked against Southampton's survival.

The Saints are facing a gargantuan battle now and new boss Ivan Juric was in the stands for Sunday's scoreless stalemate at Fulham to watch his players.

Southampton were toothless at Craven Cottage and the ex-Roma boss will need to work some kind of oracle if things are to change when West Ham arrive at St Mary's on Boxing Day. Below you can find my Southampton vs West Ham United predictions.

Team News

The return of Aaron Ramsdale at Fulham was a bright spot for Southampton as he made crucial saves to ensure they left London with a point.

Jack Stephens has completed his suspension for earning a second Premier League red card of the season in last month's loss to Chelsea but Will Smallbone and Ross Stewart are still on the absentee list.

The Hammers have few problems for this trip to the south coast. Carlos Soler was suspended for the draw with Brighton but can return here, though a booking in that game for the influential Lucas Paqueta means he will miss this assignment and Michail Antonio also remains sidelined.

Southampton vs West Ham United Odds

Southampton are 21/10 to register just their second league victory of the season, while West Ham are favourites at 11/10 for this St Mary's showdown and the draw is priced at 5/2.

Under 2.5 goals is priced at 6/5, with both teams to score 8/15 despite the fact Saints have failed to register in three successive league outings.

Under 2.5 Goals @ 6/5

This could be an attritional encounter. There wasn't a lot for Juric to enthuse over at Craven Cottage on Sunday – it took Southampton more than 55 minutes to get a shot on target and it would be the only one they had all day.

They were defensively well organised, however, restricting a Fulham side that had beaten Brighton and gained draws with Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool in their past four games. The return of Ramsdale will only be a benefit in that regard.

West Ham have played out successive 1-1 draws with Bournemouth and Brighton and if the Saints are organised once more, this could be another low-scoring encounter.

Bet Builder: Both teams to score – no, Over 8.5 corners & Flynn Downes to be booked @ 13/2

Southampton have failed to score in eight of their 17 Premier League games, including the last three, while they have only netted 11 league goals all season. They were toothless at Fulham on Sunday, with just a single shot on target.

West Ham's last five games have all gone into double figures in terms of corners, while there were 11 in the Saints' trip to Fulham.

Flynn Downes reached five bookings against Brighton last month and served a suspension but it hasn't stopped the 25-year-old putting his foot in, with three more cautions in four games since.

He's had 31 fouls, 10 more than any other Southampton player, and looks a prime candidate for another caution.

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