Bobby Seagull: Post-Christmas maths fun for a Hammers fan. A 5 goal win for 8th in the table. A 6-2 win sees for joint 8th with Everton. Any other 4 goal victory is solo 8th. Still with me? A 1-0 victory sees us joint 9th with Watford. Any other 1 goal victory is solo 9th.

Steve Claridge
Ex-Premier League striker on BBC Radio 5 live

It's been a pretty frantic start. The one thing you can't argue about Mark Hughes doing at Southampton is bringing in Danny Ings, because he's a very decent player. He goes a long way towards answering the criticism of Southampton's lack of attacking threat.

Image source, Reuters

Danny Ings momentarily turns into Diego Maradona as he nutmegs Angelo Ogbonna and squeezes past Michail Antonio, before toe-poking towards goal.

But the Saints forward can only find the side-netting.

Cracking start.

Frantic start at St Mary's.

Southampton come out flying and are straight in the faces of West Ham.

Lively on the south coast as Matt Targett scampers down the left, cuts a ball back inside to Nathan Redmond on the edge of the box and he curls an effort into the arms of Lukasz Fabianksi.

Right then, away we go.

West Ham get this one under way.

Here's how they line up..

Image source, .

Image source, .

PNE Macca: West Ham only name 6 substitutes?! What a disgrace . Good time to put a youngster on the bench for bit of experience of match-day.

Peter Collins: With tonight's team sheet, West Ham announced to their entire academy that they have no future at the club. So much for the "West Ham way".

Jeff Gurr: West Ham can only name 6 subs!! Sends a message to their Academy.

• Southampton won the corresponding fixture last season 3-2, thanks to an injury-time penalty winner from Charlie Austin.
• Saints have only lost one of their previous nine home league games against West Ham (W4, D4).

The teams are out on the pitch following a light show at St Mary's, almost time for this one to get under way...

• West Ham's run of four consecutive league wins came to an end with defeat against Watford last Saturday.
• They have lost just two of their last nine league matches (W5, D2).
• The Hammers are unbeaten in their last four away games in the Premier League (W2, D2), conceding just two goals in those games.
• West Ham are seven points better off than they were at this stage last season, when they had 17 points after 18 games, and were in 15th place.

West Ham United

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini, speaking to Sky Sports: "Southampton won the past two games because they are improving their performance. They are in a good moment but so are we even though we lost the last game against Watford. We had chances to draw that game. We expect a tough match and we will see who plays better."

• Southampton could win three Premier League games in a row for the first time since May 2016.
• Ralph Hasenhuttl has won two of his three Premier League matches in charge of Southampton (losing the other) - that's only one fewer than Mark Hughes managed in 22 attempts in charge of Saints.
• Saints are unbeaten in their last four home matches (one win and three draws).
• Charlie Austin could become the 26th player to have scored a Premier League goal on every day of the week. Thursday is the only day missing from his set - I'm calling this a 'Craig David'...

Southampton

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, speaking to Sky Sports: "Tonight can be a big step for us, but we are facing smaller targets like winning the first duels. We have the quality build-up to score every time and in the past two games we have scored six times. It would be good if we kept a clean sheet too."

Southampton

Image source, Reuters

Former Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong is enjoying life under Southampton's new boss, saying the Saints feel "more organised" and "more together as a team".

"We’re all working in the same direction," he added. "We all know what each other’s doing, and where we’re running and why we’re running.

“We want to be difficult to play against and we were against Huddersfield, especially in the first half. We didn’t give them much time on the ball, and we didn’t give them many options when we had the ball either. That’s the way we want to play going forward.”

Image source, Reuters

How do you feel about Felipe Anderson, West Ham fans?

Six goals so far this season makes him the Hammers' top scorer in the Premier League, while the winger has also weighed in with two assists.

The injured Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez both have five goals so far this term.

Dave, Bedford: 'Injury hit West Ham name only six substitutes' - AND ANDY CARROLL IS ONE OF THEM! The four horseman must be en route, the end of days is nigh...

Steve Claridge
Ex-Premier League striker on BBC Radio 5 live

I’m surprised West Ham haven’t missed Marko Arnautovic, given he was the focal point, the one who dragged them out of a rut early on. It shows Manuel Pellegrini has familiarised himself with the squad. There’s a fair amount of depth. They just need a little bit of consistency. One week they look great, the next they look as if they don’t even know each other.

West Ham United

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham's strength in depth is set to be tested, with eight players missing from the Hammers' first-team squad.

"We need to play a lot of games in December, seven games, then after that six more in January," said boss Manuel Pellegrini.

"Unfortunately for us we have eight players without the option to return soon. So that's a big problem, but we need to trust the squad and try to make a good rotation.

"We have the last game of the first part of the season and if you told me after we lost our first four games that we can finish with 27 points, I'd think that would be a good first round for us."

Tell you what... seeing as we've reached the halfway stage of the season, why not have a go at predicting not just the top three, but the whole Premier League table in our handy predictor gadget by clicking right here.

Let us know your predictions using #bbcfootball

Going to go against my better judgement and open myself up to ridicule by showing you my predictions here... (be nice).

Image source, BBC Sport