West Ham travel to the south coast for today’s Boxing Day fixture against bottom of the table Southampton: It will be a reunion with former Hammer Flynn Downes who many regret selling and who is now the Saints captain: Southampton remain rooted to the bottom of the table with just six points so far.
Normally we’d expect Lopetegui to be relatively aggressive in his team selection. However knowing that the Saints have just appointed new manager Ivan Juric who is renown for being a pretty full on ‘heavy metal’ attack-minded coach: Lopetegui could well start out ultra ‘safe’ with a strong midfield and just Kudus and Bowen in forward positions with Summerville and Fullkrug on the bench.
Of course with Paquetá missing the game but Carlos Soler returning, West Ham should be stronger in midfield and we’d hope that the Hammers avoid their now customary trick of conceding before Lopetegui throws on the attacking players who, if only they had started, could have taken the game to the opposition.
Our Predicted Lopetegui Line-up:
Fabianski, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson | Alvarez, Soucek, Soler, | Kudus, Bowen, Summerville
No place in the starting XI for Niclas Fullkrug – Lopetegui should have learned by now that the German is used by his national side as a 60+ minute impact sub.
Score prediction:
Martin 2 – 1 West Ham
Matt 1 – 0 West Ham
Gonzo 1 – 1
Sean 2 – 0 West Ham
