Southampton are back in Premier League action against Burnley at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday. Get ready for the game with our Match Pack, in association with eToro...
THE MATCH
Southampton v Burnley
St Mary’s Stadium
Saturday 15th February, 12:30pm GMT
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistants: Simon Beck, Derek Eaton
Fourth official: Kevin Friend
VAR: Michael Oliver
Assistant VAR: Gary Beswick
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Before the winter break, both sides had moved themselves up to mid-table, following a mixed start to the campaign.
Saints will want to re-find the form they enjoyed over the festive period, before the defeat to Liverpool, where they had lost just once in seven league games.
Burnley’s last three league games yielded seven points from difficult opposition; Arsenal, Manchester United and Leicester City.
With both sides having identical records except for goal difference, Saturday's contest is all about who can, potentially, climb into 10th place at the full-time whistle.
TEAM NEWS
Ralph Hasenhüttl is hopeful James Ward-Prowse will be fit for Saturday after suffering a laceration on his knee in the FA Cup replay against Tottenham Hotspur.
The manager also shared on a potential debut for January signing Kyle Walker-Peters, as well as a long awaited return for fellow full-back Yan Valery.
Opposition manager Sean Dyche will be without midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson and striker Ashley Barnes.
Both scored in the opening day fixture between the two sides at Turf Moor, with Barnes also netting four goals against Saints in as many meetings.
Full-backs Charlie Taylor and Matt Lowton are both doubts, but there might be a place in the matchday squad for January acquisition Josh Brownhill.
Form Guide
Southampton:
Tottenham (a) 2-3 (Long, Ings)
Liverpool (a) 0-4
Tottenham (h) 1-1 (Boufal) FA Cup
Crystal Palace (a) 2-0 (Redmond, Armstrong)
Wolves (h) 2-3 (Bednarek, Long)
Burnley:
Arsenal (h) 0-0
Norwich (h) 1-2 (Pieters) FA Cup
Man Utd (a) 2-0 (Wood, Rodriguez)
Leicester City (h) 2-1 (Wood, Westwood)
Chelsea (a) 0-3
THE MANAGERS
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “It is always difficult to play against Burnley. We lost 3-0 and we know how tough it always is. I think we want to show that we are better now than we were at the beginning of the season.”
Sean Dyche: "They (Southampton) seem to have been galvanised in recent months, they have had a change in tactic to a 4-4-2, getting the ball forward a bit quicker and a shift in energy."
ONES TO WATCH
Danny Ings: The former Burnley man has five goals in Saints' last seven home outings, and will be looking to add to a seasonal tally of 17 (14 in the league) that has helped propel Saints up the table, and put him in contention for the Premier League's golden boot.
Chris Wood: The clarets top goal scorer has been in form since the turn of the year with three goals and an assist in his last five Premier League ties.
His last away outing in the league saw him return with a goal and assist in Burnley's 2-0 win against Manchester United.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Southampton:
Goals
Danny Ings 17
Nathan Redmond 4
James Ward-Prowse 4
Assists
James Ward-Prowse 4
Jack Stephens 3
Danny Ings 3
Burnley:
Goals
Chris Wood 10
Jay Rodriguez 7
Ashley Barnes 6
Assists
Ashley Westwood 5
Dwight McNeil 4
Erik Pieters 3
HEAD TO HEAD
Played 59
Saints 20
Draw 17
Burnley 22
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
August 2019: Burnley 3-0 Saints
February 2019: Burnley 1-1 Saints (Redmond)
August 2018: Saints 0-0 Burnley
February 2018: Burnley 1-1 Saints (Gabbiadini)
December 2018: Saints 0-1 Burnley
DID YOU KNOW?
Danny Ings has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season – the last Southampton player to score more in a season with Saints as a top-flight club was James Beattie in 2002-03 (24).
NOT AT THE GAME?
Not able to join us at St Mary’s? We have you covered! Across our channels we’ll bring you all the action, as well as a host of behind-the-scenes access.
Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with all of the live in-game updates and free audio commentary of the match, and be sure to follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:
- Instagram
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Snapchat
Share this: