Southampton vs West Brom team news: Both receive fitness boosts

Southampton return to St Mary’s on Sunday afternoon and will look to record back-to-back Premier League wins as they meet West Bromwich Albion.

Saints had started the 2020/21 season sluggishly with three consecutive defeats in League and Cup but got back on track when an excellent team display secured them a 1-0 win at Burnley last time out.

Danny Ings was the goalscoring hero again but much of the post-match praise was reserved for the likes of Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard and Oriol Romeu for their defensive efforts.

Newly-promoted West Brom are the next opponents and they will be looking to win their first game back in the top-flight after a draw versus Chelsea and two losses to Everton and Leicester to date.

The last meeting between these two sides came back in 2018 when Saints claimed a 2-1 win at the Hawthorns in the FA Cup Fifth-Round – one of three wins for them over the Baggies in 2017/18.

Ahead of tomorrow’s fixture, it appears that both teams have received fitness boosts.

Saints could welcome Nathan Redmond back into their matchday squad after he returned to training in the past week following an ankle injury picked up in the League Cup loss to Brentford two weeks ago.

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On his team’s fitness ahead of playing West Brom, Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said:

"“Nathan (Redmond) is back in training but he’s not sure for the weekend in terms of playing from the beginning or the bench but it looks good. His ankle isn’t causing him problems and we must have a look.“The rest of the squad is okay, we had some good sessions, it’s been a long week but it’s been good time to work and the guys are all fit.”"

Hasenhuttl also confirmed that summer signing Mohammed Salisu is edging closer to being involved in his first game, but explained that he will be given the time he needs.

Slaven Bilic confirmed that West Brom could hand a debut to summer loan signing Conor Gallagher after his arrival from Chelsea – describing the midfielder as “ready” for action.

The Baggies boss was also positive on the fitness of Branislav Ivanovic, but explained that he may wait until after the international break to hand the Serbian his first start back in the Premier League.

After signing last week, Filip Krovinovic is unlikely to be involved.