More progression? West Ham Predicted starting XI

There are a mess of tough decisions for David Moyes heading into this match with Southampton. Will the skipper continue to make progress, or will West Ham stall out in this crucial match?

The biggest issue for West Ham is the loss of Tomas Soucek. The stalwart defensive midfielder has steadied West Ham’s midfield against the Premier League’s best, but his absence for the upcoming weeks suggests a formation change to make up for his absence by pressing the offence forward.

As well, Ryan Fredericks‘ longterm shoulder injury has allowed Jeremy Ngakia to step in and take the starting position from Pablo Zabaleta at right-back. The 19-year-old defender was superb against Liverpool and is a shoe-in to make the starting XI against Southampton now, too.

Here it is – the predicted XI:

Fabianski

Ngakia – Diop – Ogbonna – Cresswell

Snodgrass – Rice – Fornals

Bowen – Haller – Anderson

Bench: Randolph, Zabaleta, Balbuena, Masuaku, Lanzini, Antonio, Noble

The good with this team selection is the starting of Jarrod Bowen. The youngster has been used in both the Manchester City and Liverpool matches, but not as a starter. After talking up the idea of coming out in front of 60,000 supporters in a club published article this week, it appears he’ll get the nod to start, but only if Moyes deems he’s ready.

Outside of this, dropping Michail Antonio for Sebastien Haller is probably a contentious and arguable point. Haller has been underwhelming in big games, but he has goals in him and the feeling is that some momentum could go a long way in a relegation battle.

Haller is also durable, so should any of Felipe Anderson or Jarrod Bowen need to get replaced, he Haller can stay central with Antonio acting as a shock troop to sprint and outmuscle the Southampton defenders.

Noble being benched is the most unlikely change to happen. Moyes knows how important of a leader he is on the pitch, but a tag team of Pablo Fornals, who is surprisingly rigid in 50/50s, and Robert Snodgrass who brings constant effort can make up for it.

Overall, this is a team that presses the attack and can hold onto possession with relative ease. Southampton will look to shock with quick counterattacking football, however, less possession means fewer chances against. That is a net positive. I predict a lopsided win for the Hammers, thrusting them back out of the relegation zone.