West Ham United are comfortably the top-scoring team in the Championship right now. Southampton, though, could head to the London Stadium without their own primary source of goals.

Classy Canada international Cyle Larin is a doubt, having been forced off in the first-half of last week’s clash with a hamstring twinge. That the Saints failed to break down Bolton Wanderers without him is not a particularly great omen, either, ahead of their trip to the London Stadium.

A contingency plan that could potentially involve Divin Mubama starting away at West Ham United for the first time since his controversial departure in 2024.

Divin Mubama could face West Ham United if Cyle Larin is out for Southampton

Then again, maybe not. Mubama was left on the bench against Bolton, despite Larin exiting 40 minutes in and the Saints squandering chance after chance.

In fact, while the England Under-21 international has played nine times since he moved to the South Coast on loan from Manchester City, he’s tallied only 130 minutes on the pitch. In that time, Mubama has only one goal. And that came against Stoke City in August.

A Stoke side for whom Mubama flew out of the blocks during another loan in 2025/26, before falling out of favour. Mubama didn’t score a single Stoke goal after a hat-trick against Bristol City in the autumn. He’s managed only six in 38 appearances for both clubs. One in his last 24, although there have been very few starts in that run.

“It was a hard one. The decision is that I wanted to [make], after 60 or 70 minutes, was finding a way to put Divin on,” Eckert said after that Bolton draw. “I tried, and I tried, and I tried. And then the game opened up a little bit more at one point where I thought we had control.

“It’s a balancing act to take a player out. I think the game was quite open as much as we were pushing, but it was quite open. [Not bringing Mubama off the bench], I’ll take that on me.”

Divine Mukasa shines as another Manchester City loanee toils

The contrast with another Man City loanee is as obvious as it is stark. Divine Mukasa scored the winner at Championship leaders Swansea City last time out. Mukasa even sparked comparisons with Jude Bellingham after that all-action display on the road, while West Ham pray that keeping him in East London is a possibility.

Mubama, a prolific goalscorer at youth-team level, is yet to enjoy anything like the same success in the senior game. The fact that most Saints fans seem to be pleading with the football gods to repair Larin’s hamstring speaks volumes.

“Absolutely need Larin to be fit tomorrow,” one writes on X. “Just cannot see us beating West Ham with him out and [Lewis] Dobbin or Mubama up top. Striker in January needed.”

“Mubama used to be a massive player for West Ham’s youth teams, but he’s not good enough,” another says. “Tonda obviously doesn’t rate him.”

Of course, we might be setting ourselves up for an almighty fall. The so-called ‘curse of the ex’ exists for a reason.

Yet, while it feels like tempting fate to highlight Mubama’s South Coast struggles a day before he returns to his former club, there is also a chance that Eckert keeps him nailed to the subs bench once again anyway.