Southampton square off against Bournemouth at the St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday to contest the South Coast derby and the winner on the evening will take huge steps forward in their respective hopes of earning a top half finish.
Southampton Match Betting News
Southampton have endured a bit of a roller coaster time during the current campaign and as a testament to this fact, the Saints have won and lost four of their last eight Premier League matches.
While the Saints do not have any concerns about relegation, manager Claude Puel will surely want his side to finish in the top half of the table and the Frenchman is surely keen on the Saints enjoying a more consistent run for the final ten matches of the season.
Following the international break, Southampton square off against rivals Bournemouth in the South Coast derby and the win will be important for the Saints both in terms of pride as well as maintaining their position in the top half of the table.
Charlie Austin, Manolo Gabbiadini, Jake Hesketh, Alex McCarthy, Jeremy Pied, Matt Targett and Virgil van Dijk are the players who look set to miss out on the day for Southampton due to injuries.
Bournemouth Match Betting News
Relegation seemed like a real possibility for Bournemouth following their terrible start to 2017 but the Cherries have managed to turn things around over the past few weeks, and with seven points from their last nine, Eddie Howe’s men have moved up to 11th place in the table.
Now relegation should no longer be a worry for Bournemouth and they will be hoping to leapfrog Southampton into the top half of the table by claiming a victory over their rivals in a clash at the St. Mary’s Stadium this weekend.
Harry Arter, Adam Federici, Ryan Fraser, Lys Mousset, Junior Stanislas and Callum Wilson are out injured while Tyrone Mings serves the third of his five match ban.
Southampton vs Bournemouth Match Prediction
Southampton have won five of their last six encounters against Bournemouth but it has to be said that the clash on Saturday will be a closer affair than the head-to-head suggests. Bournemouth do tend to struggle on their travels and if Southampton play to their best, a home victory is likely to be on the cards.
