**SOUTHAMPTON**
**Premier League, St Mary’s Stadium, Thursday 26 December 2024, 3pm GMT**
West Ham United celebrate Christmas belatedly with a Boxing Day trip down the M3 to the Hampshire coast, where the Hammers complete the first half of the 2024/25 season by taking on promoted Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.
After being relegated at the end of a turbulent 2022/23 campaign that saw them have three managers, the Saints reset and appointed Russell Martin from Swansea City. The Scotsman instilled a possession-based style that saw Southampton bounce back at the first attempt, albeit via a Play-Off final win over Leeds United.
The same style has so far failed to serve Southampton too well on their return to the Premier League, and Martin will need to see a marked improvement in results if his squad is to stave off an immediate return to the EFL Championship.
The Boxing Day fixture will see the Hammers come up against former midfielder and lifelong fan Flynn Downes, who made his loan move to St Mary’s permanent in the summer just gone.
How to get there…
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With this being a Boxing Day fixture, there will of course be no regular mainline train services between London and Southampton – so the only real options are to take the official coach travel, or drive yourself.
The M3 motorway takes you most of the way, before you take the A27 from Junction 14, then the A33 into Southampton and follow the signs for St Mary’s Stadium.
If you do opt to drive to the game, there is no parking in the streets surrounding St Mary’s, so you should instead head for one of the following City Council car parks: Bedford Place (postcode SO15 2QW), Grosvenor Square (SO15 2GR), West Park Road (SO15 1AP), Marlands (SO15 1BA), Eastgate (SO14 3HH).
Alternative options, including shuttle buses and minibus parking, are suggested by Southampton FC themselves, and can be found by clicking [**HERE**](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/getting-to-st-marys).
Southampton is a sizeable city and, as such, there are plenty of hotels and other accommodation options available, but with it being the festive season rooms could be at a premium. There are the usual chain options to suit all budgets in and around the city centre.
If you fancy tapping into Southampton’s nautical feel, perhaps you might consider staying in the Ocean Village, a few hundred metres south of St Mary’s, where you can view the yachts and other boats moored in the marina.
And if you fancy making a post-Christmas holiday of it, perhaps you would consider staying across Southampton Water in the beautiful New Forest National Park.
What to do...
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The New Forest National Park is a large area of pasture land, heathland and forest situated between Southampton and Bournemouth. A truly beautiful part of the country, it is home to rare birds and mammals, including the native New Forest pony, which roams free and can be seen strolling through towns and villages!
If you stay in Southampton itself, the city’s maritime tradition is apparent in the aforementioned Ocean Village, while the SeaCity Museum tells the story of the Titanic, which set sail from Southampton on its ill-fated voyage in 1912.
The city is also home to a range of galleries, theatres and museums, but these could be closed due to the time of year, so check before you visit.
We’ve been regular visitors to St Mary’s Stadium since it opened in 2001 and are unbeaten on our previous five Premier League matches there.
Our most recent three top-flight fixtures at St Mary’s ended in draws in December 2020 – Craig Dawson’s debut – September 2021 and October 2022. However, we were beaten 3-1 in a forgettable FA Cup fifth-round tie there in March 2022.
Our first-ever visit to St Mary’s ended in victory, with Trevor Morley and Lee Chapman hit the target in a 2-0 success in our debut Premier League season on 29 November 1993.
Overall, we’ve been to St Mary’s 20 times in the Premier League, winning five, drawing eight and losing seven.