Match Pack: Saints vs Nottingham Forest
Southampton are back in the Premier League and back at St Mary's, with Nottingham Forest visiting for matchday two of the new season. Find all you need to know ahead of our return in the Match Pack...
THE MATCH
Saints vs Nottingham Forest
Premier League
St Mary's Stadium
Saturday 24th August, 3pm BST
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Sam Barrott
Assistants: Tim Wood, Simon Long
Fourth official: John Busby
VAR: Graham Scott
Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Russell Martin's side impressed many on opening day despite defeat at Newcastle. But that will mean very little unless they can pick up a first Premier League win of the new season sooner rather than later. Returning to a sold out St Mary's provides the first opportunity to do so.
Nottingham Forest are also searching for those first three points of the new season after a 1-1 draw at home AFC Bournemouth on matchday one. Nuno Espírito Santo will be keen to continue this unbeaten start to the new campaign.
STADIUM CHANGES
It's been a summer of change at St Mary's Stadium. From new fan zones to digital tickets, fans are advised to read up on what's new in SO14 ahead of tomorrow's return:
TEAM NEWS
Saints have bolstered their squad this week with the addition of Mateus Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon, whilst Cameron Archer and Lesley Ugochukwu, who signed 24 hours prior to the trip to Newcastle, have had a week to acclimatise to their new surroundings.
Manager Martin has been impressed with their impact, but remained tight-lipped on whether they'll come straight into the side, stating: "they now need to get themselves into the team which is the biggest challenge. It’s all down to their willingness to learn and being open to ideas."
Forest's new addition, left back Álex Moreno has also joined this week but it remains to be seen if he will be involved in full training with the group before Saturday.
The big omission for Espírito Santo is Danillo, who suffered a serious injury on matchday one. The manager noted: "We don’t have any kind of timescale, now he’s going to have surgery next week hopefully, then we’ll have a proper report from the doctors.”
THE MANAGERS
Russell Martin: "I hope everyone can enjoy Saturday. I enjoyed so much of Newcastle, especially at 11 vs 11. But my overall feeling is hurt at losing the game. We need to use the frustration we feel to make sure we feel much better after Saturday.
"[Forest] have some real individual brilliance and some real athleticism and power snd can hurt teams in a instant, in a moment. They're really good at what they do, so we have to be really aware of that."
Nuno Espírito Santo: “Every match in the Premier League is so tough. Football nowadays shows us there are no easy games. Southampton are a very good team, they showed it against Newcastle. It’s going to be a tough game for us.
“Every team has different ideas, that’s why it’s so challenging to compete, as we’re going to face many different opponents. But it’s about yourself and how strong you can be and how you want to play football.”
ONES TO WATCH
Cameron Archer: Although it remains to be seen whether the forward will start on Saturday, a home debut in front of a packed out stadium provides the perfect backdrop for Archer to prove what he's capable of in the Premier League.
His mixture of pace and power will be a threat to Forest even if it does come from the bench, and if things do fall his way that added confidence will provide an extra element to his game.
Morgan Gibbs-White: Despite many fearing the summer window could see Gibbs-White leave the club, the attacking midfielder remains a pivotal cog in the Forest front line.
In a difficult season for his side last time around, the 24-year-old featured 42 times and contributed to 16 goals.
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 118
Saints: 39
Draws: 27
Forest: 52
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
May 2023: Nottingham Forest 4-3 Saints (Alcaraz, Lyanco, Ward-Prowse)
January 2023: Saints 0-1 Nottingham Forest
January 2012: Nottingham Forest 0-3 Saints (Do Prado, Connolly, Schneiderlin)
September 2011: Saints 3-2 Nottingham Forest (Lambert x3)
May 2009: Nottingham Forest 3-1 Newcastle (Wright-Phillips)
KEEP UP TO DATE
Can't make our return to St Mary's? Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with live streaming of the game, key updates and audio commentary of the match, and be sure to download the official Saints app and follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:
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