Southampton host Brentford hoping that draws can start being turned into wins

Southampton host Brentford at St Mary’s on Tuesday night after the fixture set for mid-December was rescheduled due to a lack of available players in the Bees’ camp.

The Saints are now into the second half of their season, having played 19 Premier League matches, and will be looking to climb the table over the coming weeks as well as consolidate their place outside of the relegation zone.

Sat in 14th with 21 points, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are in a favourable position, only four points away from the top half and ten points off of the relegation zone with 18th placed Burnley having two games in hand.

A couple of good results and the Saints could lay a serious foundation to build upon next season with the fanbase enjoying renewed optimism after the confirmation of Sport Republic purchasing former owner Jisheng Gao’s 80% stake in the club.

Ironically, one of those involved in the deal and now the Saints’ chairman is ex-Brentford co-director Rasmus Ankersen who departed the Bees last month.

Yet, a run of defeats paired with results elsewhere going against them will see the south-coast club set for nervy final months of the campaign.

After a catastrophic second-half of last season, Hasenhuttl will have hoped his team have learned from their mistakes and will be able to put together a string of results, starting with Thomas Frank’s Brentford on Tuesday.

Despite there being an almighty lack of confidence within the Southampton fanbase regarding their side’s prospects for the upcoming season back in the summer, plenty would have considered fixtures against newly-promoted Brentford to be must-wins.

However, Frank’s side have been impressive. Having come so close to promotion in previous campaigns, the Bees finally made it to the Premier League for the very first time in June, beating Swansea City 2-0 in the play-off final and have adjusted superbly.

Admirable results against the likes of West Ham, Liverpool and Arsenal have shown that the West London side have a genuine ambition to compete and progress in the top-flight.

Despite settling into the league quickly, the Bees can be overtaken in the league table by their hosts on Tuesday night with Southampton two places and two points behind Brentford.

Team News

Southampton will have striker Che Adams available after the 25-year-old recovered from COVID-19. The Scotland striker had also suffered a slight injury before contracting the virus, meaning that he has only played nine minutes of football in the last month.

Alas, Saints fans will be delighted to see Adams, who netted against Chelsea in the League Cup as well as Watford, Norwich and Leicester in the month prior to his injury, back in action.

Defender Mohamed Salisu will also be available after missing the FA Cup win against Swansea through suspension following his red card against Tottenham.

Right-back Tino Livramento remains out with a meniscus injury, however, Hasenhuttl has confirmed that the 19-year-old will be able to return soon following initial fears that surgery may have been required.

The Austrian does have a crisis in that position though, with Kyle Walker-Peters injured and Yan Valery suspended, meaning that there is a possibility that midfielder and captain James Ward-Prowse will have to fill in.

As for Brentford, they could be boosted by the return of trio Sergi Canos, Mathias Jensen and Rico Henry whilst Frank Onyeka has departed to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations with his native Nigeria.

Head-to-Head

The Saints d0 not have an impressive home record against the Bees, having last beaten them on their own patch in September 1997. Moreover, Brentford have not lost at St Mary’s, winning two and drawing two with their most recent trip being a 2-0 success in the second round of the League Cup last season.

It will be the first time the two sides have met in a league game for almost 11 years when Southampton won 3-0 at Griffin Park on route to promotion from League One, with the two sides facing each other only 67 times since 1901.

Predicted Lineups & Prediction

Southampton (4-2-2-2): Forster, Ward-Prowse, Salisu, Stephens, Perraud, Diallo, Romeu, Elyounoussi, Armstrong, Adams, Redmond

Brentford (3-5-2): Fernández, Pinnock, Jansson, Sørensen, Canos, Roerslev, Janelt, Nørgaard, Mbuemo, Toney, Wissa

Prediction: 1-1 – Although Brentford do not draw that often, the same cannot be said for Southampton. The Saints have drawn the joint-most games this campaign alongside Brighton with nine.

The hosts are in good form having lost just one of their last seven games in all competitions and have only lost once at home all campaign.

But, injuries and suspensions combined with facing challenging opposition means it will be tough to come away with the points.