West Ham United play prospective promotion rivals Southampton at the London Stadium on Saturday at 3 p.m., as Football League World looks at team news ahead of this crucial match.

West Ham will visit Southampton at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon, hoping to maintain their Championship automatic promotion push. Nuno Espírito Santo’s team want to win three consecutive games.

The Hammers thrashed nine-man Lincoln City 6-0 away at Cincil Bank last week, then grinded out a potentially critical 1-0 victory away to table-topping Swansea City last weekend, and now face another difficult assignment in Tonda Eckert’s Southampton side.

The Saints have lost only one of their previous nine league games, and after keeping three clean sheets in a row, they will face an uphill battle to keep that record on Saturday against a West Ham attack that is blazing on all cylinders.

This might be a pivotal game at the end of the season, as Football League World looks at each player that will miss it.

Keiber Lamadrid

The only major injury in the West Ham camp is Venezuelan winger Keiber Lamadrid, who suffered a knee injury in the Hammers’ 2-1 home victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the beginning of September.

There is no timetable for when the winger will return to action, but with Jarrod Bowen, Edvin Austbo, and Manor Solomon available out wide, Nuno still has strength and depth in that area of the ground.

Flynn Downes

Flynn Downes, a childhood West Ham fan, is a doubt for Saturday’s game against the team he grew up supporting after suffering an ankle ligament damage against Norwich City, with Eckert defining his availability as ‘ambitious but conceivable.’

The 27-year-old midfielder began his career at Ipswich Town and later moved on to Luton Town and Swansea City before joining West Ham in the summer of 2022. He lasted only one year at the club, making 35 appearances across all competitions.

He joined Southampton on loan in 2023, and was then made permanent for up to £18 million the following year. He has since been a key cog in the Saints’ midfield, and if he is ruled unfit, he will be missed in this match.

Cyle Larin

Another notable absence from this game is Canadian striker Cyle Larin, who was substituted after 41 minutes in the Saints’ goalless draw with Bolton last weekend after colliding with Trotters shot-stopper Gavin Bazunu.

Larin has been one of the top centre-forwards in the Championship over the last year, and he is by far one of Southampton’s most vital players, so his loss will almost likely be felt by the away side.

Eckert stated he is ‘hopeful’ that his top striker will be available for the trip to the capital, but only time will tell if he passes his fitness test.

Mads Roerslev

Mads Roerslev, a Danish right-back who moved to the South Coast from Brentford, struggled with injuries last season, making only nine league games for the Saints.

The 27-year-old hasn’t been part of a single matchday squad since November 2026, and it’s been nearly a year since his last professional outing, which does not appear to happen this weekend at the London Stadium.