Southampton vs Bournemouth. Premier League.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance31,847.
Saturday 1 April 2017 16:36, UK
Southampton will look to get back on the winning trail when south coast rivals Bournemouth visit St Mary’s on Saturday evening.
Claude Puel's men have lost seven of their last 10 Premier League games, which has stagnated their progress towards the top half of the league.
The Saints currently sit in 10th place, level on points with Bournemouth, but the hosts do have two games in hand on their rivals.
Eddie Howe's men come into the game on the back of two straight wins in the league that has lifted them comfortably out of relegation trouble.
Martin Caceres could make his Southampton debut at home to Bournemouth after being declared fit for the first time.
The defender recently arrived as a free agent and will vie with Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens for selection in central defence, with long-term absentee Virgil van Dijk still out of action.
Shane Long and Jay Rodriguez are in contention to start up front after Manolo Gabbiadini, because of a groin injury, joined Charlie Austin - who has an injured shoulder - on the sidelines.
Bournemouth will check on the fitness of midfielder Ryan Fraser (hamstring).
Winger Junior Stanislas (groin) and midfielder Harry Arter (calf) both missed the win over Swansea before the international break but are expected to be available, while French forward Lys Mousset has been carrying a hamstring
problem.
Defender Tyrone Mings continues to serve his five-match suspension for a stamp on Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Forward Callum Wilson, goalkeeper Adam Federici and defender Rhoys Wiggins all continue their recoveries from knee injuries.
Southampton have won two of their three Premier League games against their south coast rivals Bournemouth (L1).
The Cherries have never won an away match at Southampton in any competition (D4 L8).
Saints have won each of their last three meetings at home to Bournemouth by a 2-0 scoreline, twice in the Premier League and once in the League Cup.
Jay Rodriguez scored twice in Southampton's 3-1 win over Bournemouth in December - half of his Premier League season tally (4 in 16 apps).
Josh King has eight goals and one assist in his last eight Premier League appearances for Bournemouth.
Southampton have named the same starting XI in their last three Premier League games - they haven't done this for four successive league matches since a run of five matches in November-December 2012.
33 points is Southampton's lowest points tally in a Premier League season after 27 games since 2012/13 (27). At this stage last season they had won 40 points, in 2014/15 it was 46 points and in 2013/14 they had 39 points.
Bournemouth have been awarded a league-high nine penalties in the Premier League this season.
There have been five penalties missed in games involving Bournemouth this season (of 14 taken); more than any other team. Bournemouth have missed two of these, their opponents have missed three.
Bournemouth have conceded 31 goals in 14 away games this season in the Premier League (2.2 per game) - 21 of which have come in their last eight on the road in the competition.
I think there will be goals in this. Southampton gave Bournemouth the runaround at the Vitality Stadium earlier this season and I fancy them to do it again.
I think Bournemouth punch well above their weight, even though their form did take a big dip. Their ground holds 12,000 people, I think every season they stay in the Premier League, it's a huge, huge feat.
Until they move to a bigger stadium, they can't compete with the big teams in the Premier League, however.
PAUL PREDICTS: 3-1, 11/1 with Sky Bet
A big derby on the south coast and the Saints are 8/13 with Sky Bet to complete the double over their local rivals in the Premier League this season. Puel's side came out on top 3-1 in their encounter just before Christmas and a repeat of that scoreline to the home side is an 11/1 chance. The Cherries have recovered from a slump in 2017 by winning back-to-back matches and are 17/4 to make it three on the spin with a draw trading at 3/1.
Josh King bagged a recent hat-trick against West Ham and he is 7/1 to open the scoring and 100/1 to fire in another treble.
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