Sourced from London Evening Standard article
Southampton vs West Ham predictions and team news – EPL preview
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Slaven Bilic must pick his West Ham squad up from a thrashing at the hands of Manchester United as they look to kickstart their Premier League season at Southampton.
Romelu Lukaku starred on his United as Mourinho’s men beat West Ham 4-0 on the opening day of their 2017-18 campaign.
The heavy defeat consigned the Hammers to the bottom of the table, with summer signings Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic, Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart unable to stem the tide at Old Trafford.
But with two more away fixtures before they play at the London Stadium again following the World Athletics Championships, the Hammers must improve on the road as they face Manuel Pellegrino’s Saints at St Mary’s on Saturday.
Southampton host West Ham at St Mary’s on Saturday, August 19, with kick-off scheduled for 15:30 BST.
The game will not be televised live in the UK. Alternatively, you can follow live goal updates with Standard Sport’s blog from 2pm.
Can’t see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.
Michail Antonio returns to the West Ham squad for the trip to St Mary’s.
The winger underwent a hamstring operation over the summer and was not ready for the defeat at Manchester United, but he will feature on Saturday.
Midfielders Cheikhou Kouyate and Manuel Lanzini (both knee) and striker Andy Carroll (thigh) remain sidelined, although all three are back in training.
Ryan Bertrand will be fit after shaking off a knock in time to hand the Saints a clean bill of health.
Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy has returned to full fitness to take a seat on the bench, while wantaway defender Virgil van Dijk remains unavailable for selection.
Click here to place a bet. Odds correct as of August 19 at 10.45am.
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