Southampton 0 West Ham United 0 – St. Mary’s clash goes goalless as Said Benrahma denied late winner

Categories: Football | Published by: AC

31/12/2020

Premier League Matchday 37 Game Reviews 2020

Updated: 03/12/2022

2020-21 English Premier League report: Southampton vs. West Ham United – Tuesday, 29th December 2020

Southampton 0 West Ham United 0 – St. Mary's stadium

Southampton's bid to move into the Top four came a cropper as they played out a goalless draw with a visiting West Ham side on Tuesday night at the St. Mary's stadium.

Premier League Winner Odds 2020 / 21

Manchester City	1/2
Liverpool	9/2
Manchester Utd	6/1
Leicester	20/1
Tottenham	28/1
Chelsea	100/1
Everton	125/1
Aston Villa	150/1
Southampton	250/1
Arsenal	250/1
West Ham	150/1
Leeds	1000/1
Wolves	1000/1
Brighton	3500/1
Burnley	3500/1
Crystal Palace	2500/1
Fulham	4500/1
Newcastle	4500/1
Sheffield Utd	4500/1
West Brom	4500/1

Odds updated on 21/01/2021 12:13 pm by AC

Odds are taken from the new UK online bookmakers and are subject to change.

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David Moyes made five changes to the West Ham starting XI after an unsatisfactory display in a 2-2 draw against Brighton, with Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini coming in. The Hammers started on a below-par note as Southampton came out sharp off the blocks.

Danny Ings who looked doubtful for the match a day before, returned from injury to almost put the Saints in the lead in as early as the 6th minute when he took a cut-back from Che Adams, waltzed past a couple of defenders and slotted the ball in.

But VAR had the goal disallowed as Adams was found offside in the build-up. Despite the Saints dominating the proceedings, West ham were able to carve out a few chances of their own on the break.

Ryan Fredericks failed to connect an incisive pass from a few yards away while Tomas Soucek could not bury in the ball with a gaping goal in front of him. Pablo Fornals created another chance for the Hammers after some deft one-two with Aaron Cresswell, as he landed a cross to Manuel Lanzini inside the area, but the Argentine blazed his shot over.

The Hammers despite a 37 per cent possession looked more the side likely to score. The early part of the second-half saw Yarmolenko weave his way into the rival box but fail to pummel one in with his favoured left foot as Oriol Romeu effected a timely interception to deny the Ukrainian a goal.

Southampton's time on the ball didn't count for much as their only chances apart from the Ings' disallowed goal came from distances with James Ward-Prowse firing over from a free-kick and Theo Walcott threatening Fabianski with a dipping long-range effort.

West Ham had the best opportunity to put the game to bed when Said Benrahma got himself well inside the area but his close-range attempt was brilliantly saved by rival keeper Alex McCarthy.

Conspicuous by his absence from the sidelines was Saints coach Ralph Hasenhuttl who had to work from home via a video link, as he was self-isolating after a member of his household tested positive for coronavirus.

With the draw at St. Mary's, the year ended on a disappointing note for Hasenhuttl and his men as the Saints went through their third game without scoring, leaving them on the ninth spot on the table. David Moyes will rue his team's missed chances as the Hammers manage to cling on to the top half on the 10th.

Southampton starting XI in a 4-2-2-2 formation: McCarthy (goal); Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Stephens, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu; Walcott, Djenepo (Armstrong 78); Ings , Adams 5 (Long, 58)

Subs: Forster, Obafemi, Valery, Smallbone, Salisu, Diallo, Vokins

West Ham starting XI in a 4-4-1-1 formation: Fabianski (goal); Fredericks, Dawson, Ogbonna, Creswell; Yarmolenko (Bowen 72), Rice, Soucek, Fornals; Lanzini (Benrahma 60); Haller 5 (Antonio 77)

Subs: Randolph, Coufal, Snodgrass, Noble, Diop, Johnson