Sunderland v Southampton preview: Sofiane Boufal to miss out for Saints
Saturday 11 February 2017 15:27, UK
Southampton will be without Sofiane Boufal when they visit Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Moroccan international suffered an ankle injury during the Saints' 3-1 home defeat to West Ham last weekend, the club's sixth loss in seven matches.
They travel to relegation-threatened Sunderland, who thrashed Crystal Palace 4-0 at Selhurst Park last Saturday to record their first win since mid-December.
The victory has given the Black Cats a big boost in their battle for survival, with just two points separating bottom of the table Sunderland and Middlesbrough in 15th.
Team news
Adnan Januzaj (hip) and John O'Shea (hamstring) should both be fit after recovering from injuries suffered against Palace.
Jack Rodwell (hamstring) will not be available, although David Moyes is optimistic the midfielder will not miss more than a few weeks. Jordan Pickford (knee) has returned to light training but Saturday is too soon for a return.
Jan Kirchhoff, Paddy McNair, Victor Anichebe and Duncan Watmore (all knee), as well as Lee Cattermole (hip), are still sidelined and Papy Djilobodji is suspended.
Boufal's absence for Southampton, which could yet extend to the EFL Cup final against Manchester United on February 26, further weakens a squad already missing defender Virgil van Dijk, also because of an ankle injury.
Nathan Redmond is pushing for a first-team recall having appeared as a substitute in last week's defeat to the Hammers.
Opta stats
Sunderland have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last eight Premier League games against the Saints (W1 D5 L2), conceding 16 goals - although half of those came in an 8-0 defeat in October 2014.
There has not been a goalless draw between these sides in any competition since March 1978 - each of the last 37 games has seen at least one goal scored.
Moyes has lost only once in 11 previous league meetings with Southampton (0-1 in September 2002 at Everton), though six matches have been draws (W4).
Jermain Defoe's two goals against Crystal Palace took him into second place in Sunderland's all-time leading Premier League goalscorers with 33 goals, one ahead of Niall Quinn on 32 - although he is 28 goals behind Kevin Phillips (61 goals).
Three of Sunderland's last four top-flight goals against the Saints have been penalties (two from Jordi Gomez and one from Defoe).
Southampton are one of three Premier League sides yet to collect a point away from home in 2017, along with Burnley and Bournemouth.
Only Hull (77) have faced more shots on target in home league games this season than the Black Cats (76).
Manolo Gabbiadini became the 100th Premier League scorer for Southampton when he scored against West Ham - only one Saints player has ever scored in their first two Premier League appearances for the club, with Henri Camara doing so in February 2005.
Sunderland have kept as many clean sheets in their last two league outings (2) as they did in the 22 games under Moyes prior to that.
Merson's prediction
You could argue that Southampton are on the fringes of the battle for survival. If Bournemouth are then Saints have to be, given the fact they're on the same amount of points.
If Sunderland win this game they are in with a real chance of surviving. They looked together at Crystal Palace and got a great result, they will be brimming with confidence.
Their main problem has been consistency but they've now gone two games without conceding. Things could well be starting to click.
Southampton may have an eye on the EFL Cup final, so if Sunderland are able to turn this game into a battle then I see them getting a win which really puts the cat among the pigeons.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (18/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
The Black Cats remain odds-on favourites for relegation despite their 4-0 triumph at Palace, while their visitors are 4/5 for a top-half finish despite back-to-back losses.
The wide-open first goalscorer market is shared by Defoe, Gabbiadini and Shane Long at 9/2 apiece, while Defoe was cut to 18/1 to be the Premier League top goalscorer after taking his tally to 15 with last weekend's brace at Selhurst Park.
