West Ham v Southampton Betting Tips – Premier League 31st March 3.00pm
A huge survival game between two sides who really weren’t tipped to be in this position come this stage of the season. Southampton are third from bottom, two points away from safety up to West Ham who are one place above them. So this is a crucial game now and after all the unrest at West Ham and their poor form, they could really lift themselves with a victory in this one. Getting it done is another matter though.
West Ham News and Form
West Ham are going to find themselves under tremendous pressure if they suffer another home loss in this one. They are only two points above the drop zone, which is ahead of Southampton, so will be down in the bottom three if they stuff this one up. Their last home game saw them lose 3-0 against Burnley, sparking unrest in the crowds. They haven’t been terrible at home really, losing just one of their last five home fixtures in a W2 D2 L1 sequence of form. It is just overall home and away they are only W1 L4 in their last five and that has seen some big relegation pressure mount on them. This is such a crucial game as far as their survival hopes go right now. To have the chance to go five points clear of the Saints is massive. The Hammers have averaged just over a goal per game at home, conceding an average of 1.4 per game. West Ham have scored 69% of their home goals in the second half of matches so a half-time draw at Ladbrokes does look a decent option to get behind in this one. The Irons have, however, shipped at least two goals in each of their last three league games (eleven goals conceded in total).
Southampton News and Form
The Saints simply cannot afford to lose this one and be cut further adrift in the bottom three. They were taken down 3-0 by Newcastle at St James’ Park in their last away game, which snapped a good four-match unbeaten streak of form that they were on away from St Marys (W1 D3). Southampton have collected just the one league victory since the end of November, but there has been resilience in there by not getting beaten much. Southampton are W1 D5 L2 in their last eight and now have Mark Hughes at the helm to light a fire under them. In the Ladbrokes correct score market, a 1-1 draw is the shortest-priced option at 5/1* (Betting Odds taken at 05:42 p.m. on March 26th, 2018) and that result has some appeal in this one. This is probably going to be tight and tense. Neither side will want to come away empty handed in this one. Southampton are looking for just their third away wins of the season, averaging under a goal per game, while conceding an average of 1.6 goals per away game. They are without a clean sheet in their last four on the road.
West Ham v Southampton Head to Head
Southampton rolled out a 3-2 home success over West Ham earlier in the season and in the last five Premier League meetings, it is the Saints who are narrowly 3-2 ahead. Southampton won 3-0 in this corresponding fixture last season. Four of the last five meetings have gone over 2.5 goals.
West Ham v Southampton Betting Odds*
Southampton 8/5, West Ham 9/5, Draw 21/10* (Betting Odds taken at 05:40 a.m. on March 26th, 2018)
West Ham v Southampton Predictions
Southampton to win: Neither of these look really reliable enough to get a win, but the Saints have picked up some good points on the road recently and with West Ham appearing to be in absolute dire straits at the moment, the visitors could land a huge blow.
