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Southampton vs. Brighton: Saints looking for third-straight win as they host the Seagulls

By Ryan Borowski

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Viktor Gyokeres of Brighton and Hove Albion is challenged by Jack Stephens of Southampton during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton at American Express Community Stadium on August 28, 2018 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Viktor Gyokeres of Brighton and Hove Albion is challenged by Jack Stephens of Southampton during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton at American Express Community Stadium on August 28, 2018 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) /
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Southampton look to make it three wins in-a-row when they take on Brighton under the lights on Monday night. Fitness of the Saints’ strikers are in question however.

The International break is finally over and Premier League football is back. Southampton kick off their next stint of games at home against Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday Night Football.

The Saints are coming off a win in their last match away at Crystal Palace while the Gulls drew their last match 2-2 against Fulham.

The two sides recently met in the second round of the Carabao Cup which saw Southampton take the spoils in a 0-1 win thanks to a late goal by substitute Charlie Austin. The lineups will look a lot different from the last time the two teams met and we could be in for a very different type of match.

Some notable absences from the starting lineup for Brighton were the likes of Glen Murray, Davy Propper, and Gaetan Bong. As for the Saints, Danny Ings, Nathan Redmond, and Mario Lemina were amongst the names not featured in the starting lineup for the cup match.

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 28: Nathan Redmond of Southampton is challenged by Yves Bissouma of Brighton and Hove Albion during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton at American Express Community Stadium on August 28, 2018 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 28: Nathan Redmond of Southampton is challenged by Yves Bissouma of Brighton and Hove Albion during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton at American Express Community Stadium on August 28, 2018 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) /

Why Southampton will win

Coming off the back of their first win this season, Southampton will look to continue that trend and take all threr points at home. Mark Hughes will most likely make very few, in not any, changes to the lineup that he marched out against Crystal Palace.

There have been questions asked about the health of both Danny Ings and Shane Long (who both started up top against Palace) but Sparky is confident both players will be fit in time for the match on Monday.

The duo played well against Crystal Palace and it would be great to see a consistent pairing up top so the two can continue to grow together and hopefully start producing more goals in the future.

Southampton should have no reason to be lacking confidence entering this match. Coming off of two wins, one which was against Brighton, look for the Saints to come out the gates with lots of energy and pressing high up the pitch. The players will be well rested coming off a break were many did not see any action whilst on duty for their national team.

Expect Southampton to open the scoring and if they do not concede shortly after, which has been an ever present issue for Southampton, they should be able to hold on and capture the always crucial three points from this match.

Why Brighton will win

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Glenn Murray is a game-changer for Brighton. He is their leading goal scorer and is a force up top that can cause issues for any defense.

They 34-year-old Striker has three goals in four starts this season and will look to continue his scoring record against the Saints after scoring in both fixtures last season for the Seagulls.

Brighton will not panic if they manage to go down a goal for they know they have enough fire power with Murray, Propper and Gross to get themselves back into any match. Especially, against Southampton who have struggled playing with a lead for the past few seasons.

Brighton play a direct style of football looking to strike quickly with build-up play form their wide-players and getting the ball into the box for Gross or Murray. Murray’s goal against Man United is a great example of how they create in the final third and how dangerous they can be.

Predicted Line-ups

Southampton

Goalkeeper: Alex McCarthy

Defenders: Ryan Bertrand, Wesley Hoedt, Jannik Vestergaard, Cedric Soares

Midfielders: Mohammed Elyounoussi, Mario Lemina, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Nathan Redmond

Forwards: Danny Ings, Shane Long

Brighton

Goalkeeper: Mathew Ryan

Defenders: Martin Montoya, Sean Duffy, Lewis Dunk, Gaetan Bong

Midfielders: Anthony Knockaert, Dale Stephens, Davy Propper, Solly March, Pascal Gross

Forwards: Glenn Murray

Prediction

Southampton 2-1 Brighton

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