Match Pack: Saints vs West Brom
It's back to St Mary's for Saints, who are looking for a fourth straight win at home when West Brom visit on Tuesday night. Get clued up ahead of midweek action...
THE MATCH
Southampton vs West Bromwich Albion
Sky Bet Championship
St Mary’s Stadium
Tuesday 9th December, 7.45pm GMT
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Samuel Allison
Assistants: Richard Woodward, Lee Venamore
Fourth official: Alan Young
THE KITS
Saints will be in their traditional red and white stripes, while the Baggies will swap to their yellow and green away kit for the trip to the south coast.
TICKETS
A limited number of tickets remain on general sale for fans to buy, with the match a Category C fixture.
LIVE COVERAGE
For those unable to make it to St Mary's, Saints Play match passes are available to supporters outside the UK.
THE PROGRAMME
The matchday programme is available to order online, as well as from the various sellers around St Mary’s.
This special editions covered the meeting with Birmingham on Saturday as well as the midweek encounter with West Brom and will once again be sold at the stadium on Tuesday night.
Popular former Saint Morgan Schneiderlin recalls some of the most memorable moments from his career as he tackles our A-Z of Football feature, while you can also find Tonda Eckert’s programme notes and everything you need to know about both of our upcoming visitors.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Saints bounced back from defeat at Millwall by picking up a third straight win at St Mary's, firing three past Birmingham in Tonda Eckert's first game as Head Coach.
Eckert's fifth win from six games since taking charge, the hosts will want to edge closer to the top six with yet another with in SO14.
The Baggies head south with just two wins from their last five, falling to 16th in the table and without a win on the road since the start of October.
TEAM NEWS
Saints: Updating in Monday morning's press conference, Head Coach Tonda Eckert confirmed his players are "fine and ready to go again" on Tuesday night.
Adam Armstrong took a knock to his knee at the weekend but is fit to feature against the club he spent the second half of last season on loan at, with Tom Fellows set to face his former club for the first time since leaving in the summer.
West Brom: Charlie Taylor is ineligible to feature against his parent club, with Nat Phillips making a timely return from suspension to bolster their defensive options.
Man United loanee Toby Collyer is back in Manchester having suffered a "big" calf injury.
THE MANAGERS
Tonda Eckert: “If you look at the table its clear we are still quite far away [from the top two]. We need to attack one game after another. I know that sounds boring but that’s what the reality is, still many, many points to play for and it’s important for the club and us as a group to say we have the ambition to go for promotion.
"He has had an unbelievable journey as a manger, Ryan Mason. I think he’s doing an outstanding job, not just now but before as well. We will play against a team that has the highest outputs in the whole league, so it’s going to be a very intense game and we need to be ready to match that."
Ryan Mason: “The form away from home is certainly something that we’re chasing to try and help the lads, because at the moment it’s not working.
"The formula isn’t there, I need to change something. We’ve tried different systems and game plans away from home. At the moment we’re not quite there.”
ONES TO WATCH
Finn Azaz: The Republic of Ireland international is in the form of his live in the Championship having scored in each of his last five outings - a career first.
With six goals and two assists in the last six matches, Azaz is proving to be an unstoppable force and a major factor in Saints' glowing form under Eckert.
Aune Heggebø: After a slow start to the season, the Baggies' summer signing has burst to life since November.
With six goals in five games the Norwegian will head to the south coast after scoring in each of the last two matches.
TOP PERFORMERS
Saints
Goals:
Armstrong 9
Azaz 6
Manning, Harwood-Bellis 3
Assists:
Armstrong, Manning 3
Azaz, Harwood-Bellis, Scienza, Fraser, Fellows 2
Eight players 1
West Brom
Goals:
Heggebø 8
Price 5
Johnston 2
Assists:
Johnston 6
Price 3
Mowatt, Heggebø
FORM GUIDE
Saints
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)
Charlton (a) SBC: W 5-1 (Manning, Armstrong, Jander, Azaz 2)
Sheff Wed (h) SBC W 3-1 (Jander, Azaz, Armstrong)
West Brom
QPR (a) SBC: L 1-3 (Heggebø)
Swansea (h) SBC: W 3-2 (Heggebø, Molumby 2)
Birmingham (h) SBC: D 1-1 (Mowatt)
Coventry (a) SBC: L 2-3 (Heggebø 2)
Oxford (h) SBC: W 2-1 (Leigh OG, Heggebø)
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 85
Saints wins: 35
Draws: 25
Birmingham wins: 25
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
May 2024: Saints 3-1 West Brom Championship play-off semi-final second leg (Smallbone, Armstrong 2)
May 2024: West Brom 0-0 Saints Championship play-off semi-final second legFeb 2024: West Brom 0-2 Saints Championship (Fraser, Brooks)
Nov 2023: Saints 2-1 West Brom Championship (Smallbone, Armstrong)
April 2021: West Brom 3-0 Saints Premier League
KEEP UP TO DATE
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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.
