Date: Wednesday, December 4 Venue: St Mary's Stadium Kick-Off: 19:45 Can Southampton get their challenge for a top four place back on track when they take on Aston Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday?
Team News
Southampton will be without Artur Boruc after the goalkeeper broke his hand during the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday, while fellow keeper Kelvin Davis is also out. Morgan Schneiderlin is sidelined with a groin injury, and Gaston Ramirez, Danny Fox and Guly do Prado are also unavailable. Andreas Weimann is a doubt for Aston Villa after the forward picked up a hamstring injury in the draw with Sunderland, but manager Paul Lambert has an otherwise fully-fit squad to select from. (bbc)
Key Stats
Southampton won both meetings with Aston Villa last season, with the 4-1 home win not only their biggest of the season, but also their first in the Premier League since April 2005. Only Arsenal have conceded as few goals in the Premier League this season (10) as Southampton; only Manchester City have conceded as few at home (two). Villa are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games, although three have been drawn. With five clean sheets in 2013-14, Villa have equalled the number of shut-outs they recorded during the whole of last season.
Likely Line-Ups
Southampton Gazzaniga, Clyne, Fonte, Lovren, Shaw, Wanyama, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Lallana, Rodriguez, Lambert Aston Villa Guzan, Bacuna, Vlaar, Clark, Luna, Delph, Westwood, El Ahmadi, Agbonlahor, Benteke, Kozak
Match Preview
As Jay Rodriguez found the back of the net against Chelsea on Sunday, Southampton were flying second in the table, a place many would scarcely have dreamed possible yet one that would have been fully merited. By full time, the Blues had ran out 3-1 winners and the Saints were down to 7th - which just exemplifies how tight it is in the top half at present. Opponents Aston Villa can get themselves into the top 10 with a win here, and will be hoping for a better result following their disappointing goalless draw with troubled Sunderland. The Villans will also be hoping for a reversal to their poor form against their hosts tonight - the Saints won home and away in this fixture last season, including 4-1 at St Mary's. Rickie Lambert scored three goals for Southampton in the two meetings with Villa last season and though Mauricio Pochettino has a number of high profile casualties through injury, including goalkeeper Artur Boruc, who is out until the New Year, he can at least rely on the Englishman tonight. Prediction 2-0
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
