Match Pack: Saints vs Brighton

Saints vs Brighton

Premier League

St Mary’s Stadium

Saturday 4th December, 3pm GMT

Referee: Anthony Taylor

Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn

Fourth official: Stuart Attwell

VAR: Martin Atkinson

Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes

Southampton may feel hard done by that they didn’t claim all three points over Leicester in the week and will be looking to right their wrongs on Saturday.

Despite goals from Jan Bednarek and Ché Adams, Saints walked away from St Mary's with just a point in their midweek clash.

Winless in their last three matches, Ralph Hasenhüttl will be eager to secure victory in front of a St Mary’s crowd.

Despite an initially positive start to the season for the visitors, Graham Potter’s side have struggled in recent weeks.

Brighton haven’t won in the league since their 2-1 victory over Leicester back in September.

Despite only picking up seven points out of a possible 27 in their last nine league outings, the Seagulls still sit ninth in the current Premier League standings.

Ralph Hasenhüttl has confirmed Jan Bednarek will miss Saturday’s meeting with Brighton after picking up a calf injury against Leicester.

Stuart Armstrong remains absent, while Fraser Forster is also a doubt after an injury meant he couldn’t train in the latter part of the week.

Jack Stephens is edging closer to a return as he continues to build fitness after a knee injury picked up at Manchester City saw him sit on the sidelines for two months.

Jeremy Sarmiento, Adam Lallana and Adam Webster were all forced off of the field of play in Brighton’s midweek meeting with West Ham and will not be available on Saturday.

Danny Welbeck and Steven Alzate will also be absent for the visitors.

“This is a manager that is very open-minded. He has the same issues that we always have, we are working with a team with limits. It will be an interesting game I think.”

"Southampton have real clarity in terms of how they build up, how they attack. They have real structure to their play."

Tella earned a position in the starting eleven on Wednesday in Saints’ 2-2 draw with Leicester.

Creating chances and pairing up nicely with both Adams and Armstrong, Hasenhüttl could opt for the youngster once again on Saturday.

Brighton’s leading goalscorer, Maupay has been in fine form for Graham Potter’s side this season.

Scoring in the 89th minute to claim a vital away point on the road at West Ham on Wednesday, Maupay is certain to be a threat for the Southampton defence.

Elyounoussi, Broja, Adams 4

Ward-Prowse, Armstrong 2

Nathan Redmond 4

Elyounoussi, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong 2

Neal Maupay 5

Leandro Trossard 3

MacAllister, Mwepu, Connolly 2

Alexis MacAllister 3

Pascal Groß 2

Played: 75

Saints: 36

Draws: 18

Brighton: 21

March 2021: Saints 1-2 Brighton (Adams)

December 2020: Brighton 1-2 Saints (Vestergaard, Ings)

July 2020: Saints 1-1 Brighton (Ings)

August 2019: Brighton 0-2 Saints (Djenepo, Redmond)

March 2019: Brighton 0-1 Saints (Højbjerg)

- Nathan Redmond has assisted in his last three home Premier League appearances – no player has ever assisted in four consecutive home matches for Southampton, while the last player to assist in four home appearances in a row for any side in the Premier League was Kevin De Bruyne in October 2019.

- Southampton have lost just two of their last 12 home Premier League matches (W5 D5), having lost four of their previous five before this run (D1).

- Southampton have lost just one of their eight Premier League meetings with Brighton (W3 D4). However, Saints are winless in all four such games at home against them (D3 L1), going down 2-1 in the most recent encounter.

Can't make the game? We’ve got you covered! We’ll bring you all of the action from St Mary’s, as well as a host of behind-the-scenes access.

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