Southampton will be hoping for an end-of-Christmas miracle when they host out-of-form Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
Saints have lost both of their games under Ivan Juric and are still bottom of the table. They collected just six points during the first half of the season and look destined for a return to the Championship, with ten points separating them from safety.
Brentford will see Saturday's trip south as a perfect opportunity to end their five-match winless run The last Arsenal to punish the odd bees on New Year's Day. Thomas Frank's side are yet to win on the road, however, picking up just two draws from nine Premier League trips.
Here it is 90 minutes guide to a nervous affair at St Mary's.
Southampton vs Brentford H2H Record (Last Five Matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Southampton |
Brentford |
|---|---|
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Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton – 29/12/24 |
Brentford 1-3 Arsenal – 01/01/25 |
|
Southampton 0-1 West Ham – 26/12/24 |
Brighton 0-0 Brentford – 27/12/24 |
|
Fulham 0-0 Southampton – 22/12/24 |
Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest – 21/12/24 |
|
Southampton 1-2 Liverpool – 18/12/24 |
Newcastle 3-1 Brentford – 18/12/24 |
|
Southampton 0-5 Tottenham – 15/12/24 |
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford – 15/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Radio commentary and updates on talkSPORT, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Solent and BBC London 94.9 |
|
United States |
peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 6 Canada |
Southampton still find themselves without long-term absentees Gavin Bazunu, Juan Larios and Ross Stewart, while Jack Stephens is likely to miss the visit of Brentford with a knock. Will Smallbone is close to a return but could miss the weekend.
Flynn Downes is being assessed ahead of kick-off after suffering a dead leg, but the big loss for Southampton will be Mateus Fernandes. One of the club's bright sparks this season, he is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Crystal Palace last time out.
Southampton predicted formation against Brentford (5-2-1-2): Ramsdale; Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Wood, Walker-Peters; Ugochukwu, Yes; Dibling; Onuachu, Armstrong.
Injuries have been constant and frustrating for Brentford this season, but Frank has revealed that everyone who featured against Arsenal is available on Saturday. That means the returning Mark Flekken, Sepp van den Berg and Mathias Jensen all came through the defeat unscathed.
However, the Bees remain without a number of important team firsts. Fabio Carvalho misses out with a groin injury, while Kristoffer Ajer, Rico Henry, Ben Mee, Aaron Hickey and Ethan Pinnock are all absent in defence. Igor Thiago, Gustavo Nunes and Joshua Dasilva are also absent.
Brentford predicted formation against Southampton (4-3-1-2): Stains; Roerslev, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Norgaard, Jensen; Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa.
Brentford have been in disappointing form of late as their injuries have piled up, but they still have a host of impressive attacking options, notably Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo. Kevin Schade can also have a significant impact on the outcome, either off the bench or starting.
Southampton have never been out of trouble this season and have been awful defensively. Things have improved since the departure of Russell Martin, but they still lack the quality at both ends of the pitch required to stay in the division.
Brentford can secure a first away win of the season at St Mary's to heap more misery on the Saints.