Southampton team news: Charlie Austin starts as in-form Saints travel to West Ham

CHARLIE AUSTIN has been handed a start by Southampton boss Claude Puel as they travel to West Ham, having scored four goals in his last three matches.

After a slow start, the Saints have won three in a row, with former Swindon striker Austin having scored in all those wins, against Sparta Prague in the Europa League, Swansea in the Premier League and Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup.

Here's the Southampton team to face West Ham: Fraser Forster, Cedric Soares, Jose Fonte, Steven Davis, Austin, Dusan Tadic, Oriel Romeu, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Bertrand, Nathan Redmond, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

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And he will relish the chance to score yet again against the Hammers, whose chairman David Sullivan publicly questioned his fitness last year after deciding against signing him.

But fellow striker Jay Rodriguez is out with a groin problem.

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Frenchman Puel said: "We can see the good work on the training sessions and in every game, we are strong in defence and also with good possibilities on the counter-attack, playing good football, even with different players out on the pitch.

"All of the squad can take confidence from this, to show that it is possible to play these many games every three days, which is what we challenged the squad to do at the start (of the season).

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