Southampton return to Premier League action this Saturday as they welcome Leeds United to St. Mary’s in what is a matchup against struggling teams.
The Saints are still looking for their first league win of the season and this could be a prime opportunity for them to do so. Leeds have been struggling to score as well as defend and Southampton could take advantage of that and pick up three points.
What will interest me the most about this match is how will Hasenhuttl line-up without captain James Ward-Prowse and who will step up in his absence.
Let us take a look at how both teams will score.
How Southampton Will Win
Both teams press well and look to turn over their opponent so this game could get ugly. This match will come down to who can limit their mistakes while taking advantage of their opponent’s mistakes.
Southampton have struggled to score goals this season but if Ralph rotates the lineup and gets new faces out there, they will be eager to score and prove themselves to the manager. I am thinking specifically of Armando Broja and Nathan Tella.
If Tella and Broja start I fully expect one of them to score and to give Hasenhuttl something to think about going forward. If Saints can score two I think they get a result in this match.
How Leeds Will Win
Leeds play exactly how you would in a game of FIFA 22. They sprint constantly and look to break as quickly as possible when they have the ball. They will want to wreck any rhythm that Southampton have and make them as uncomfortable as possible.
If they can press the Saints into bad turnovers in the midfield they will be able to break quickly and give McCarthy a lot to think about.
I think their goal is the same as Southampton’s and that is to score at least two if they hope to get a result from this match.
TV Channel
Highlights of this match will be shown on Match of the Day in the UK and will be on Peacock for the United States.
Predicted Lineups
Southampton: Alex McCarthy; Romain Perraud, Jan Bednarek, Mohamed Salisu, Tino Livramento; Ibrahima Diallo, Oriol Romeu; Stuart Armstrong, Nathan Tella; Armando Broja, Adam Armstrong
Leeds: Illan Meslier; Junior Firpo, Liam Cooper, Diego Llorente, Jamie Shackleton; Kalvin Phillips; Jack Harrison, Mateusz Klich, Stuart Dallas, Raphinha, Rodrigo
Predicted Score
Southampton 2-2 Leeds
Think this will be an exciting match with the teams level after 90 minutes