The key reason behind West Ham and Southampton grinding out away results?

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West Ham and Southampton led the Premier League in tackles over the weekend.

West Ham and Southampton both picked up impressive away results to continue their excellent seasons so far.

Both sides sit in the Premier League top five, with Southampton earning a 1-0 away win against Hull City.

West Ham only came away from Stoke with one point, but left the stadium content after fighting back from two goals down to draw 2-2.

The theme their two results had in common was the fact they both led the Premier League over the weekend in terms of tackles won, both registering 27.

A combative nature in the middle of the park is essential if sides are to stand a chance of having success away from home, and Chelsea had to step up and match QPR to register a 2-1 win.

The essential Saints and Hammers players who made three or more successful tackles at the weekend can be seen below:

Southampton can attribute their resilience to three key players, Nathaniel Clyne, Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama.

Four of West Ham’s summer signings featured among their top tacklers, including three loanees, Alex Song, Carl Jenkinson and Morgan Amalfitano. If Sam Allardyce can manage to get the trio to sign permanently, it will be another big step in the right direction for the Hammers.

Next up Southampton host Leicester City and West Ham are at home to Aston Villa, matches in which both teams will be keen not to let slip valuable points earned away from home and retain their positions in the top five heading into the international break.