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Manuel Pellegrini knew ahead of the Christmas and New Year schedule that he was going to be hard pressed to put out an effective team for all the matches, his problem has been made more acute as both his 'general' in defence, Fabian Balbuena, and his forward Chicharito look increasingly unlikely to feature in the first of four games in ten days tonight at St Mary's against a ressurgent Southampton side.

Almost as if in the Movie Groundhog day, history seems to be repeating itself as Hammers great white hope Andy Carroll prepares for his thousandth return from injury. We have all been there before, not least the player who has had to make more come backs than Status Quo!

Up until a couple of days ago Hammers starlet Reece Oxford looked to all intents and purposes as if he was on his way out from The London Stadium, but manager Manuel Pellegrini, known for his man management skills, has apparently sat down with the lad and had a good heart to heart about how things should progress.