Southampton vs. Stoke City
Venue: St. Mary’s Stadium
Kick off: 4pm
Two sides in strong form go head to head at St Mary’s on Saturday (today) as Southampton host Stoke City in the Premier League.
Ronald Koeman’s side will be looking for a third straight win, while the visitors have four wins from their last six ahead of the international break.
Southampton sit seventh in the Premier League table coming into this fixture, having beaten Sunderland 1-0 in their last outing before the international break.
Although Southampton are unbeaten away from home during the 2015-16 campaign, the team’s performances at St Mary’s have not been as strong, with the side dropping points in half of their home fixtures so far this season.
Discipline has also been a problem in recent weeks, with Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mane both picking up red cards in the last three matches for this weekend’s hosts, while only Sunderland, who have 28 yellow cards, have had more players booked so far this season.
Southampton’s defending was patchy at the start of the season, but the team have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, with the side keeping back-to-back clean sheets for the first time in their last two outings.
With four wins and just one defeat in their last six league outings, Mark Hughes’s side head to St Mary’s as one of the in-form teams in the Premier League, with only this weekend’s opponents and Arsenal picking up more points from their last six fixtures.
The Potters backed up their League Cup win over Chelsea with a 1-0 win over the reigning champions prior to the international break, leaving them 12th in the table, just a point off a spot in the top half.
Goals have been difficult to come by for the whole Stoke squad though, with the side netting just 10 times so far this season, which is the joint-lowest in the division alongside Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion.
The form of England international Jack Butland between the posts has given Stoke one of the strongest defences though, with the goalkeeper keeping four clean sheets while conceding just 12 times.
Southampton possible starting lineup: Stekelenburg, Yoshida, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand, Clasie, Davis, Mane, Tadic, Long, Pelle.
Stoke City possible starting lineup: Butland, Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters, Whelan, Adam, Shaqiri, Krkic, Arnautovic, Walters.