MY ACCOUNT
– Six of the last ten Premier League meetings have ended as draws
– Southampton have won at home just once in the top-flight all season
– Recommended bet: Draw
A south coast derby awaits both Southampton and Brighton upon their return to Premier League action following the World Cup.
Nathan Jones will be looking for his first Premier League win as Saints boss following a successful Carabao Cup tie against League One Lincoln.
Meanwhile, Brighton were beaten by League One opposition in Charlton and Roberto De Zerbi’s men will be aiming to bounce back.
Team news
Southampton have an almost fully fit squad to choose from with Tino Livramento still absent due to a knee injury sustained earlier in the year.
Jones played a full-strength side against Lincoln with two-goal star Che Adams set to lead the line once more.
Kyle Walker-Peters played just over an hour in his comeback from injury which had sidelined him since October, and he should be fit to play again.
Jakub Moder is Brighton’s only long-term injury absentee as De Zerbi prepares to revert to a first-choice line up.
The likes of Leandro Trossard and Joel Veltman were benched and should be restored to the starting XI.
Alexis Mac Allister may not be involved following his World Cup win for Argentina last weekend.
The stats
Curiously, the home side has never won this game in ten Premier League meetings since Brighton’s promotion back in 2017.
Six of those games have ended all square and there has traditionally been very little to separate the two teams.
Last season, the pair drew on both occasions with a James Ward-Prowse brace rescuing a point at the Amex in the previous meeting.
This season, Southampton have managed to win only one game on their own patch as they defeated Chelsea 2-1 in August, so Brighton may look to pounce upon that very poor record.
However, the Seagulls’ confidence will be fragile following their surprise defeat against Charlton and De Zerbi is still finding his feet after replacing Graham Potter in September.
They have won only two of their matches under the tutelage of the Italian.
Prediction
Neither side are approaching this game full of confidence so both may look to adopt a more cautious approach.
The onus will be more on Southampton being the home side and of course, Jones will be eager to get his first Premier League win with the Saints languishing in the bottom three.
Brighton would probably accept a point against Southampton and they still lie seventh despite their ropey recent form.
There is nothing to suggest this won’t be a very close contest and it is hard to look beyond a draw given their record against one another.
A draw is 13/5 on LiveScore Bet while over 2.5 goals can be backed at 10/11 with three of the last four meetings seeing over three goals scored.
