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Southampton: Team news and predicted Saints line-up to face Brighton

By Marc Walker

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 10: Moussa Djenepo of Southampton during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton at Etihad Stadium on March 10, 2021 in Manchester, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 10: Moussa Djenepo of Southampton during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton at Etihad Stadium on March 10, 2021 in Manchester, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) /
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Southampton return to St Mary’s on Sunday and will be looking to claim an important win against a struggling Brighton team.

Saints have returned to good form in their last two games against Sheffield United and Manchester City, although they did let some poor defensive mistakes slip into their showing versus City and allowed a comfortable victory for Pep Guardiola’s side in the end.

Brighton sit three places below Saints in the table and are in real danger of relegation if they do not start picking up the results they need. Meetings with Saints and Newcastle in the next week could be ideal opportunities to make their situation a lot better.

Ahead of Sunday’s match, there has been some intriguing team news that could affect which way the result goes.

Southampton’s Danny Ings (2nd L) and Moussa Djenepo (L) (Photo by SHAUN BOTTERILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Southampton’s Danny Ings (2nd L) and Moussa Djenepo (L) (Photo by SHAUN BOTTERILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Saints could have Moussa Djenepo in their matchday squad despite his going off with an injury against Manchester City.

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In his pre-match press conference, Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed that he will make a late decision on the Malian and explained how the winger’s body is a complex one to manage, with “strange” injuries and reactions to collisions continually halting his player’s progress.

Danny Ings and Theo Walcott will be out of action until after the international break, whilst Oriol Romeu, Will Smallbone and Michael Obafemi all look set to miss the rest of the season.

Brighton have five player unavailable to them ahead of this weekend and have been dealt a blow with Tariq Lamptey being ruled out for the rest of the campaign.

Solly March will also not return until 2021/22 pre-season, but Aaron Connolly, Adam Webster and Florin Andone are all progressing well in their rehabilitation from respective injuries.

Predicted Saints line-up

Fraser Forster; Kyle Walker-Peters, Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard, Ryan Bertrand; James Ward-Prowse, Ibrahima Diallo; Stuart Armstrong, Takumi Minamino; Che Adams, Nathan Tella

Ralph Hasenhuttl will surely return to what is his strongest line-up for this game that could see them take a giant stride towards safety.

Five changes can be expected in all as Forster, Walker-Peters, Diallo, Minamino and Tella all start in place of McCarthy, Salisu, Stephens, Redmond and Djenepo.

Next. Man City vs Saints: Three Match Takeaways. dark

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