Southampton secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Selhurst Park prior to the international break and will want to keep the good form going when they host Brighton. The Saints have collected 4 points from their 4 outings in the Premier League so far and are 13th in the league table.
It’s still unclear what Southampton and Brighton are targeting this season after scrapping it out for survival this season. This game could give us an early indicator, however.
Southampton Team News
Shane Long is sidelined with a foot injury and he is a few days away from being available once again. Apart from him, Mark Hughes has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Predicted Southampton Line-Up (4-4-2)
Defence
Wesley Hoedt and Jannik Vestergaard are expected to line up as the two centre-halves. Vestergaard has settled in well at his new club, having made 3 starts already. He has mustered 1.3 tackles, 6.7 clearances and 1 block per game on an average.
Ryan Bertrand should keep his place at left-back. His industry and ability to provide an attacking outlet on the left flank make him an undisputed starter. Cedric Soares is likely to get the nod to start as the right-back. Alex McCarthy has done reasonably well in goal and should start in between the sticks once again.
Midfield
Mario Lemina and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are expected to start in central midfield. Lemina has a pass accuracy of 86.2% so far this season and has done well in front of the defence with 2.5 interceptions and tackles each game so far this season. He needs to add more consistency to his game, however.
Hojbjerg found the back of the net against the Eagles and he himself has an excellent pass completion rate of 91.3% so far in the league. He does like making the forward dash every now and then and has 2 key passes a game.
Nathan Redmond should keep his place on the left side of the midfield and on the other side, we expect Mohamed Elyounoussi to start.
Attack
With Long expected to sit out during the upcoming fixture, Danny Ings and Charlie Austin should spearhead Southampton’s attack.
Together, Ings and Austin are really dangerous and owing to be in the right position inside the opposition box, they are often hard to mark in the box. Ings also has a decent burst of pace and Austin is good in the air, so the two complement each other well
Statistics Credits: WhoScored
