The Premier League returns on Boxing Day, with Southampton set to host Brighton & Hove Albion at St. Mary’s Stadium on Monday evening.
Southampton are 19th in the table and lost their last three Premier League games before the World Cup break. So, new manager Nathan Jones has his task cut out and he would have been delighted to watch his team progress to the EFL Cup quarter-finals by beating Lincoln 2-1 on Wednesday.
Brighton, in contrast, were dumped out of the EFL Cup by Charlton Athletic on penalties. Roberto de Zerbi’s side are seventh in the Premier League and will want to bounce back to winning ways when they take on Southampton.
On that note, here are the key battles that could have a major impact on the game.
#James Ward-Prowse vs Moises Caicedo
Southampton’s beating heart in midfield against the Brighton starlet. Much of Southampton’s play goes through James Ward-Prowse, who is an excellent distributor of the ball.
The Englishman is pivotal to the Saints, both in attack and defensively, but it is in the middle of the park where he will encounter Moises Caicedo. A tireless campaigner in Brighton’s engine room, Caicedo should be tasked with preventing Ward-Prowse from hitting full stride with his late runs into the box and from releasing defence-splitting passes.
If the Colombia international can limit Ward-Prowse’s influence, Brighton’s chances of winning at the St. Mary’s Stadium would increase substantially.
#Che Adams vs Lewis Dunk
Perhaps the most crucial duel of all. Che Adams is Southampton’s top scorer in the Premier League with four strikes, and he managed to get into some form with a brace against Lincoln City in the EFL Cup.
For a Southampton side that has been blunt going forward this season, Adams will be their chief source of goals against Brighton. He can take advantage of what has been a leaky Brighton defence under De Zerbi.
Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk will need to take responsibility for nullifying Adams’ threat. Dunk has blown hot and cold this season, and he will be wary of not giving time and space to Adams in the box. The Southampton striker’s pace, physicality and finishing should present a huge test of threat, and Dunk will have to be at his best to stop him.
#Leandro Trossard vs Lyanco
Leandro Trossard has been Brighton’s standout player this season. With seven goals and two assists, the fleet-footed Belgian was in red-hot form before the World Cup break and he will be raring to hit the ground running against Southampton.
Lyanco was deployed at the heart of Southampton’s three-man backline against Lincoln City, and Nathan Jones could well opt for a similar strategy on Boxing Day. While Lyanco’s aerial ability, tough-tackling and physicality are well known, it will be the defender’s reading of the game and positional sense which will be most useful as he tries to negate Trossard’s threat.
