By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Southampton v West Ham United
Carabao Cup second round
St Mary’s Stadium
Tuesday 25 August 2026, 7.45pm BST
A chance to rebuild confidence
In terms of West Ham’s Championship campaign, this match is probably something of an inconvenience. However, it remains important for rebuilding confidence following Saturday’s dreadful 2-1 defeat against Charlton Athletic.
It is also important for Nuno Espírito Santo to demonstrate to the supporters that he knows how to set up his team.
West Ham need more than just a result at St Mary’s. I want to see a tactical plan that moves away from the 4-4-2 Nuno keeps trying to implement.
I want to see him get more from Jarrod Bowen and, ideally, produce some good attacking patterns of play. West Ham have looked ponderous and predictable for far too long, often waiting until they fall behind before playing with any urgency.
Ideally, I would like the Hammers to win and perform well. Nuno and the club could certainly do with a victory, although I’m not sure how seriously he will take the competition.
Nuno must improve on West Ham’s poor showing against Charlton
Nuno needs to try something different
West Ham’s performance against Charlton was extremely concerning.
The Hammers started slowly, conceded after six minutes and found themselves 2-0 down before finally beginning to attack with any real purpose. Joël Piroe scored on his debut, but Taty Castellanos missed a stoppage-time penalty which would have rescued a point.
Nuno’s decision to play Piroe behind Castellanos was particularly strange although I have it on good authority that it’s a feature of the strikers game. West Ham signed a proven Championship goalscorer and then in the first half he seemed to operate in a role that kept him well away from goal.
Piroe should lead the line at Southampton, with Bowen and Keiber Lamadrid providing the support from wide areas.
I’ve selected Lamadrid because Manor Solomon has experienced fitness problems in the past and probably needs to be protected. The Israeli has already started both Championship matches and there is little benefit in taking unnecessary risks with him during a cup tie.
Mukasa deserves his opportunity
Divine Mukasa deserves to start following his encouraging appearance from the bench against Charlton.
The Manchester City loanee immediately brought some purpose and directness to West Ham’s attacking play. He was extremely unlucky not to score when his effort was brilliantly saved.
I would bring Mukasa into the midfield and drop Mohamadou Kanté, who endured a poor first half on Saturday.
Lewis Orford also improved the team after replacing Kanté at half-time, so I Nuno could possibly start him alongside Mukasa and Arne Engels in a three-man midfield.
That formation should give West Ham more control and provide Bowen with greater support than he has received in the opening games.
At right-back, I think Nuno will start Joël Veltman instead of Kyle Walker-Peters. Veltman deserves the opportunity following a steady performance from the bench against Charlton.
Former Hammer could punish West Ham
Southampton arrive with some momentum after beating Stoke City 3-1 at St Mary’s on Saturday.
Cyle Larin opened the scoring before former Hammer Divin Mubama struck late on his home debut. Ryan Manning completed the victory with a stoppage-time penalty.
Larin has scored in all three of Southampton’s competitive fixtures this season, making him an obvious threat. However, much of the attention from a West Ham perspective will inevitably be focused on Mubama.
I have absolutely no bitterness towards Divin. West Ham decided to let him go, and looking at the current squad, he might even get into our team if he were still here.
I genuinely wish him well in his career. I just hope he doesn’t perform well against us.
Flynn Downes is another former Hammer who could feature, having completed every minute of Southampton’s season so far.
The Saints reached this stage by beating Colchester United 2-0, while West Ham progressed with a 3-1 victory over Portsmouth in front of a record first-round Carabao Cup crowd.
Gonzo’s predicted West Ham team
This is almost impossible to predict because Nuno could rotate heavily. However, I expect him to move to a 4-3-3 and give opportunities to Veltman, Mukasa and Lamadrid.
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| GK | Mads Hermansen |
| RB | Joël Veltman |
| CB | Konstantinos Mavropanos |
| CB | Max Kilman |
| LB | Ollie Scarles |
| CM | Lewis Orford |
| CM | Divine Mukasa |
| CM | Arne Engels |
| RW | Jarrod Bowen |
| LW | Keiber Lamadrid |
| CF | Joël Piroe |
Gonzo’s prediction
West Ham need a win, but Southampton enter the game in better form and Nuno’s team remain incredibly difficult to trust.
I hope to see a change of formation and a far more coherent attacking plan, but I suspect Southampton will edge it.
Prediction: Southampton 2-1 West Ham United
Scarles and Kilman drop out for me.
Veltman Mavro Golambekis Mayers
Agree with the midfield and attack Gonzo but I feel we need to try out other options at the back. I believe Veltman can play central defence also so I would go Mayers, Veltman, Golambeckis, KWP with Areola in goal. If we loose we loose but we can’t go into the next league game with the Dinos, Kilman pairing so time to consider other options. I would also bring Dinos on at some point and try him with one of the others.
Could not agree more the 442 is just not working and we need 3 in midfield given the youth. Veltman proves cover for Orford and brings some leadership to the backline something that is missing with both Marv and Kilman. With a 8/10 in Musaka we should be able to get balls into the front 3. I really dont expect Nuno to do this but I hope he does and it works so he moves away from the 442. Having 3 in midfield is necessary and we need leadership in the back. I would like to see Scarles rested and give Mayers a go.
I think that since it is a cup tie Areola deserves to play – I would also like to see how Veltman would perform at centre back
COYI