Southampton vs Wolves preview, team news, stats, prediction, kick-off time

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Southampton vs Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday (kick-off 12pm).

Team news

Alex McCarthy should return in goal when Southampton host Wolves in Sunday's Premier League clash at St Mary's.

Fraser Forster kept a clean sheet as Saints saw off Wolves 2-0 in Thursday's FA Cup fifth-round encounter at Molineux, but McCarthy should step back in for the quick-fire return clash in the league.

Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl fielded a strong side at Wolves in midweek and will look to ask many of those players to double up.

Skipper Conor Coady, Rui Patricio and Willian Jose are all expected to return for Wolves.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo rested a host of players in the defeat to Saints on Thursday. Nelson Semedo and Pedro Neto are also likely to start.

Raul Jimenez (fractured skull), Daniel Podence (groin), Willy Boly (thigh) and Marcal (groin) remain out.

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How to follow

Follow Southampton vs Wolves in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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Jones Knows prediction

Wolves were absolutely second best in every department in the meeting between these two on Thursday in the FA Cup but with Pedro Neto, Adama Traore and Willian Jose all likely to return, this should be a tighter encounter with Wolves actually possessing a threat in the final third.

So, what happens when fast starters meet fast finishers? Well, we'll find out in this fixture.

Southampton have scored the first goal in eight of their 10 home matches this season, highlighting Ralph Hasenhutt's energetic philosophy of pressing until players can press no more.

However, this does have a consequence on their finishing kick. Saints regularly run out of steam towards the latter stages of matches. Only West Brom, Newcastle and Crystal Palace have conceded more goals than the 16 Southampton have shipped on or after the 61st minutes in matches this season. And their lack of energy in their 3-2 defeat at the Toon last weekend where they failed to score playing against 10-men for 28 minutes and nine-men for 15 minutes was a worrying sign.

Having put so much physical excursion into the FA Cup victory, a 72-hour turnaround is a worry for Saints. I'd fully expect Wolves, who are a notorious second-half team (they have failed to score in the first half in 69 of 99 games since returning to the Premier League), to be packing a powerful punch in the latter stages of this one.

There are betting angles to take advantage of with that theory in mind. Southampton to be winning at half time and Wolves at full time is a 33/1 shot but those who like doubling money should be alerted to the Evens about Wolves being the last team to score in this fixture. It looks a cracker.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 1-1

BETTING ANGLE: Wolves to be the last team to score (Evens with Sky Bet)

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Opta stats

• Southampton have won just one of their last nine league matches against Wolves (D4 L4), winning 3-1 at St Mary's in April 2019.
• Wolves are looking to record consecutive away league wins against Southampton for the first time since winning three in a row between 1969-70 and 1971-72.
• Southampton have dropped seven points from winning positions in their last three Premier League games against Wolves (D2 L1) - since the start of last season, no side has dropped more points against an opponent in the top-flight.
• Southampton have lost their last five Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 26 (W13 D8). Saints have never lost six consecutive league games in their history.
• Wolves haven't opened the scoring in any of their last 13 Premier League games (W2 D4 L7). Only three clubs have ever had a longer run of Premier League games without netting the first goal - Manchester City in 1995 (16), Coventry in 1996 (14) and West Ham in 1997 (14).
• Southampton are the only team to play a Premier League match on Valentine's Day but not receive a card, with no Saints player receiving a yellow or red card in their 4-2 win over Liverpool in February 1994. All other 15 teams to feature in a Premier League game on that day have had at least one card.
• Five of Wolves' seven Premier League victories this season have come against London sides (Arsenal x2, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Fulham). The other two have been against Yorkshire clubs (Leeds and Sheffield United), picking up just four points from 12 games against sides from outside these areas (W0 D4 L8).
• Including penalties, Wolves are the only Premier League team to have scored more goals from set-piece situations (12) than from open play (11) this season. However, only West Ham (4) and Arsenal (4) have conceded fewer goals from set pieces than Southampton (6).
• Takumi Minamino scored 30 minutes into his Premier League debut for Southampton against Newcastle last time out, having netted just one league goal in 531 minutes with Liverpool. The last player to score in each of their first two Premier League games for Southampton was Manolo Gabbiadini in February 2017.
• Southampton's James Ward-Prowse scored his fourth direct free-kick goal in the Premier League this season against Newcastle last time out - only David Beckham in 2000-01 and Laurent Robert in 2001-02 have ever scored five in a single campaign in the competition.

Pitch to Post Preview - Guardiola v Mourinho, Arsenal's dip and development, and how far away are Man Utd?

In this week's Pitch to Post Preview Podcast Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports News reporter Paul Gilmour and Sky Sports feature writer Nick Wright to look ahead to Saturday's clash between Pep Guardiola's Man City and Jose Mourinho's Tottenham, with the league leaders' imperious form and Gareth Bale's continued absence from the Spurs XI on the agenda.

We also hear from Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith on Arsenal's inconsistency, how Mikel Arteta is building for a better campaign next season, and whether Leeds striker Patrick Bamford can make it into England's squad for the Euros.

Plus, Nick Wright delivers his verdict on why Manchester United should be ready for a title tilt, Sam Allardyce's struggles to turn things around at West Brom, and shares his Pitch for what will happen in the Premier League this weekend.

Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox

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