Southampton will be without defender Jack Stephens for three months; Wolves duo Rayan Ait Nouri and Yerson Mosquera are missing; watch Southampton vs Wolves live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm on Super Sunday; kick-off 2pm.
Sunday 26 September 2021 18:31, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Southampton vs Wolves in the Premier League on Super Sunday; kick-off 2pm.
Southampton will be without defender Jack Stephens for Sunday's Premier League game at home to Wolves.
Stephens is set to be sidelined for up to three months after suffering a knee tendon injury in last weekend's 0-0 draw at champions Manchester City.
Saints forward Theo Walcott has returned to training following a calf problem but is unlikely to feature, while midfielder Stuart Armstrong remains out with a similar issue.
Wolves duo Rayan Ait Nouri and Yerson Mosquera are missing after joining the club's injury list during the midweek Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham.
Ait Nouri is following concussion protocols after a second-half blow to the head, while Mosquera faces more than a month out with a hamstring injury suffered just minutes into his debut.
Jonny and Pedro Neto remain out with knee problems, while Daniel Podence, Willy Boly and Leander Dendoncker performed well enough against Spurs to give manager Bruno Lage pause for thought before returning them to bench duty.
Southampton vs Wolves is live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm; kick-off 2pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
I'm yet to truly get a handle on either of these two teams, which is proving problematic for prediction and betting purposes. Having backed Southampton for relegation in the summer, I've been surprised with their performance levels that should have amounted to more than the four draws they have picked up.
Can they get that elusive first win here? Well, the markets can't split these two. And I'm thinking along the same lines. I do think Wolves will finish considerably higher than Saints come the end of the campaign but their current conversion rate in front of goal makes them impossible to fancy.
Wolves have struggled for goals with just two in the Premier League this season - an own goal by Watford's Francisco Sierralta and a goal from a yard out by Hee-Chan Hwang in the 2-0 win at Watford. This is despite attempting the third highest amount of shots this season, behind only Manchester City and Liverpool.
Wolves also have the highest expected goals figure this season (9.2) to back up their shots data. The difference of -7.2 between goals scored and expected goals is the biggest negative difference in the Premier League. If they start taking these big chances, then an opposition team is in trouble. I don't think it'll start happening here though. A fifth consecutive draw for Southampton has to be the play.
SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1
