Match Pack: Saints vs Coventry
Get set for the visit of the Sky Bet Championship leaders to St Mary's, as Southampton prepare to host Coventry City...
THE MATCH
Southampton vs Coventry City
Sky Bet Championship
St Mary’s Stadium
Saturday 20th December, 12.30pm GMT
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Adam Herczeg
Assistants: Robert Hyde, Lee Venamore
Fourth official: Josh Smith
THE KITS
Coventry will be in their all navy third strip at St Mary's, with Saints in the club's traditional home colours.
TICKETS
A limited number of tickets remain on general sale for fans to buy. Prices start from £30 for Adults and £20 for Juniors.
LIVE COVERAGE
For those unable to make it to St Mary's, the game will be live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage getting under way from 11am GMT.
Saints Play match passes are available to supporters in certain overseas territories.
THE PROGRAMME
The matchday programme is available to order online, as well as from the various sellers around St Mary’s.
This Christmas edition features a festive cover designed by talented local illustrator Amelia Best. Inside, you'll find the in-form Finn Azaz tackle our A-Z of Football feature, while you can also find Tonda Eckert’s programme notes and everything you need to know about our high-flying opponents.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Saints will be looking for a return to winning ways after the disappointing 2-1 defeat at Norwich last time out.
St Mary’s has been a huge source of comfort since Tonda Eckert took the reins – the head coach has won all four of his home games in charge, with Saints scoring three goals in all of those.
Coventry have been virtually flawless all season, holding a five-point lead at the top and, crucially, a 12-point buffer to Preston in third.
But Frank Lampard’s side have taken only one point from their last two away games combined, and that was an unsatisfactory draw at Preston, who were reduced to 10 men in the first half. Three days prior to that, the Sky Blues were beaten 3-0 at Ipswich.
TEAM NEWS
Saints: The hosts are boosted by the return to fitness of winger Tom Fellows, who has been back in training this week after missing the trip to Norwich.
Elias Jelert is training again after a lengthy lay-off, while Mads Roerslev is set to be back in action at Staplewood next week.
Coventry: The visitors make the journey south with what head coach Frank Lampard describes as a number of fitness “issues” affecting his squad.
Top scorer Brandon Thomas-Asante is a long-term absentee through injury, while illness has reportedly hit Lampard’s side hard.
The City boss revealed that young forward George Shepherd, who has only just turned 17, is in the squad for the game, which could be another indication of how much Coventry are struggling for senior numbers.
THE MANAGERS
Tonda Eckert: "There are moments in which we need to improve. It takes a little bit of time, I know time is not always available in football and we want to be quick and implement things quickly, but I think we are heading in a good direction in general.
"Compliments to what Coventry have achieved so far, but we will be ready on Saturday. It's a perfect game for us. I love playing at St Mary's. We've been quite successful in our [recent] home games. We are full of energy and will be all-in."
Frank Lampard: "I'm not going to say that I'm wary of them (Saints), but I am respectful of the level of squad they have there.
"They are a high-possession team, I think they've had the most in the league, just a little more than us. They are on a good run of form, and they have good individuals in their team. They do try to play so we will have to make sure our setup is as good as it can be."
ONES TO WATCH
Adam Armstrong: With four goals in his last two St Mary’s appearances, Armstrong is a man in form and recently soared to the top of the Championship scoring charts with 11 league goals for the season.
Having seen his first-half spot-kick saved at Carrow Road last weekend, Armstrong will want to put things right against his former club, for whom he scored 20 goals on loan in League One back in 2015/16.
Victor Torp: Signed in January 2024 from Norwegian side Sarpsborg, Torp has played a starring role in Coventry’s recent rise, including the club’s run to the FA Cup semi-finals, in which his extra-time “winner” was controversially disallowed by VAR, as the Sky Blues mounted a stirring comeback from 3-0 down against Manchester United.
This season, Torp has contributed seven goals and three assists from midfield in 18 Championship appearances. His long-range shooting and set-piece delivery are amongst the best in the league, and Saints will need to be prepared for the Dane’s impressive ball-striking ability.
TOP PERFORMERS
Saints
Goals:
Armstrong 11
Azaz 6
Manning 4
Assists:
Armstrong, Manning, Azaz, Fellows 3
Fraser, Harwood-Bellis, Scienza 2
Nine players 1
Coventry
Goals:
Thomas-Asante 10
Wright 9
Simms 8
Assists:
Van Ewijk 5
Thomas, Torp, Sakamoto, Thomas-Asante 3
Grimes, Mason-Clark, Simms, Wright 2
FORM GUIDE
Saints
Norwich (a) SBC: L 1-2 (Manning)
West Brom (h) SBC: W 3-2 (Scienza, Armstrong 2)
Birmingham (h) SBC: W 3-1 (Azaz, Armstrong 2)
Millwall (a) SBC: L 2-3 (Armstrong pen, Azaz)
Leicester (h) SBC: W 3-0 (Harwood-Bellis 2, Azaz)
Coventry
Bristol City (h) SBC: W 1-0 (Mason-Clark)
Preston (a) SBC: D 1-1 (Hughes og)
Ipswich (a) SBC: L 0-3
Charlton (h) SBC: W 3-1 (Eccles, Simms 2)
Middlesbrough (a) SBC: W 4-2 (Simms 2, Kitching 2)
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 120
Saints wins: 41
Draws: 38
Coventry wins: 41
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Apr 2024: Saints 2-1 Coventry Championship (Adams 2)
Dec 2023: Coventry 1-1 Saints Championship (Edozie)
Feb 2022: Saints 2-1 Coventry AET FA Cup fourth round (S. Armstrong, Walker-Peters)
Apr 2012: Saints 4-0 Coventry Championship (Sharp, Fonte, Hooiveld, Lallana)
Jan 2012: Coventry 1-2 Saints FA Cup third round (Ward-Prowse, Martin)
KEEP UP TO DATE
Not able to make it to the game? Download the official Saints app to follow live in-match updates and follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:
- Instagram
- Twitter
- Facebook
A limited number of Men's Half Season Tickets are now available. Don't miss a minute of the action across the second half of the season, beginning with the visit of Hull City to St Mary's in January, with prices starting from around £21 per match.
