This afternoon Southampton play host to Burnley in their first competitive game of the 2018/19 campaign.
The Saints’ supporters will be excited for the upcoming season after a positive transfer window which saw the club recruit five fresh faces, including a loan deal for Danny Ings struck on deadline day.
Burnley meanwhile only completed three major transfers and all of those came in the final week of the window, as Joe Hart, Ben Gibson and Matej Vydra all joined the Clarets – the club have faced some criticism for their business however, as two of the players came up from the second tier whilst Hart’s last season with West Ham was mostly below par.
However Burnley did significantly better than Southampton last campaign, finishing in seventh to secure European football whilst the Saints only narrowly secured Premier League safety all together.
Furthermore, the Saints only picked up a single point against Dyche’s men last season, losing narrowly at St. Mary’s before a late Manolo Gabbiadini equaliser ensured that the Clarets didn’t take six points from two meetings with the Saints.
But what talking points should be discussed pre-match?