West Ham go to Southampton on Boxing Day with Julen Lopetegui on the brink if the Hammers do not win.
Not for the first time this season, Julen Lopetegui is facing the sack if West Ham don’t emerge victorious from a must-win game – this time at Southampton.
Once again the Spaniard could not have hand-picked weaker opposition for the occasion.
This Saints side are not just the worst team in the top flight with a dismal five points.
They are on course to officially be the worst team in Premier League history.
The Saints have just five points and are on course to break the unwanted record of the Premier League’s worst ever team – Derby County – who got just 11 points in the 2007/8 season.
Lopetegui survived the last “must-win” match he faced against Wolves as his West Ham somehow scraped a 2-1 victory thanks for three very questionable VAR calls.
The Hammers should have been well beaten against Brighton at the weekend.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
The performance once again saw the Hammers jeered off.
It has been made perfectly clear to Lopetegui ahead of Southampton that West Ham simply must win and start playing better too.
The expectation is a comfortable victory and nothing other than a win will be acceptable to West Ham’s owners and fans.
Lopetegui has been getting his excuses in ahead of the game, highlighting the fact Southampton may get a new manager bounce with it being Ivan Juric’s first game in charge.
Southampton FC unveil the new men's First team manager, Ivan Juric, at St Mary's stadium on December 20, 2024 in Southampton, England.
Photo by Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images
The Spaniard has even tried to claim Southampton are a very good side with excellent players who are in a false position.
Graham Potter is said to be on standby if West Ham sack Lopetegui.
He may need to keep his phone on ring tonight if several top pundits are proved correct.
Because from Alan Shearer to Mark Lawrenson the big five pundits have their say on West Ham at Saints.
And several are not convinced the Hammers will get the win Lopetegui needs.
Shearer: West Ham not impressive and won’t win
The Premier League’s record goalscorer Shearer has been seriously unimpressed by West Ham.
Despite Saints being cannon fodder for most teams, Shearer doesn’t think the Hammers have it in them to win as he predicts a draw.
“This is a tough one to call, Southampton have their new manager coming in, albeit he was in the stands at Fulham they kept a clean sheet, Aaron Ramsdale played really well,” Shearer told The Metro.
“West Ham are not impressive at the moment. I’m going to go for a draw in this one.”
Sky Sports expert predicts Hammers defeat at Saints
Sky Sports’ leading football analyst Lewis Jones predicts and even worse outcome.
In his Jones Knows column, he thinks Juric will have an instant impact and West Ham will lose 1-0.
“The Saints battled their way to a hard-earned and deserved goalless draw at Fulham, restricting Marco Silva’s side side to an expected goals figure of 1.04,” Jones said.
“It was a performance that had Ivan Juric’s stamp all over it despite him not being officially in charge. His work at Torino, where they finished ninth last season before leaving for Roma, was built on solid foundations in defence. Only Inter Milan, Juventus and Bologna conceded fewer goals than Torino last season. 1-0 to Southampton.”
Head Coach Julen Lopetegui of West Ham United during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and West Ham United FC at Vitality Stadium on...
Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images
Sutton seriously unconvinced by Lopetegui at West Ham
Chris Sutton says West Ham ‘got away with one’ against Brighton after being ‘battered’.
The former striker says the Hammers should be playing and doing better with the stars Lopetegui has at his disposal.
He too doesn’t think West Ham will win and says he is totally unconvinced Lopetegui is the right man for the job, predicting a 1-1 draw.
“There has not been much Christmas cheer for Southampton but they did at least keep a clean sheet against Fulham and their new manager, Ivan Juric, would probably be happy with another bore draw in his first game in charge,” Sutton said on BBC Sport.
“West Ham also picked up a point over the weekend, against Brighton, but they really got away with one there – I was so unlucky with my prediction of a Seagulls win, because they absolutely battered them.
“The Hammers have got some really quality players, like Jarrod Bowen, and I keep thinking they are eventually going to get going and find some consistency, but it has not happened yet.
“I’m still not convinced by West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui, and I don’t really know what to expect from Juric, so the safest prediction here is probably another 1-1 draw – which would be West Ham’s third in a row, all against south coast clubs.”
Carragher predicts West Ham defeat
Jamie Carragher has been outspoken on Lopetegui and West Ham of late.
After the shock 2-0 win at Newcastle, Carragher warned West Ham’s owners and fans not to get carried away by a sudden spike in effort in one game.
He said he still didn’t believe Lopetegui was the right appointment and the Hammers duly lost in shambolic style to Arsenal and Leicester.
Carragher has since doubled down on those comments, stating he thinks Lopetegui is completely the wrong fit for West Ham.
Now he predicts a result which will almost certainly see Lopetegui sacked – a 2-1 defeat for West Ham at Southampton.
Lawro’s surprise Hammers prediction feels ominous
Things get even more ominous for West Ham when you turn to the prediction of Mark Lawrenson.
Lawro rarely backed the Hammers to win in all his time doing predictions for the BBC.
One season West Ham would have got just 15 points based on Lawrenson’s predictions.
So it is surely bad news that he is the only big pundit predicting a West Ham win at Southampton.
Lawrenson believes the Hammers will triumph 2-1.
“Every point is like gold dust for Southampton but they’re probably already gone in all honesty,” Lawrenson said.
“West Ham are the better side, no doubt about it. Southampton 1-2 West Ham.”
Related Posts