The Premier League season resumes following the 2022 World Cup and on the 26th of December we have a meeting between Southampton and Brighton.
The game will take place at St. Mary's Stadium and the hosts begin the round in 19th place on 12 points while the visitors are in 7th place on 21 points.
First game at St Mary's ✅First win ✅Next challenge 🔜 pic.twitter.com/kmuBV70KlV— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 21, 2022
First game at St Mary's ✅First win ✅Next challenge 🔜 pic.twitter.com/kmuBV70KlV
Southampton come into the match on the back of a 2-1 home win over Lincoln City in the fourth round of the League Cup on Tuesday night.
The Saints were expected to beat the League One club comfortably but fell a goal behind in only the 2nd minute.
However, there was plenty of time left for Southampton to get back into the match and they scored in the 25th and 74th minute to win and progress to the quarter final.
That result means Southampton have won 2 of their last 3 games in all competitions.
Both wins have come in the League Cup but one of them was via a penalty shootout in the third round against Sheffield Wednesday following a 1-1 draw at home.
In terms of the Premier League, Southampton have won only 3 of their last 21 fixtures, which is an extremely poor record.
They have failed to win any of their last 4 league games at home and have recorded only 1 win from their 9 most recent Premier League matches on home soil.
Both teams have scored in each of Southampton’s last 5 home Premier League games.
Brighton also played in the fourth round of the League Cup this week and they crashed out via a penalty shootout at League One Charlton Athletic.
It was a poor result for Brighton and they would have been hoping to go far in the competition this season. The game ended 0-0 after 90 minutes and with no extra time, it went straight to the lottery of penalty shootout.
That result means Brighton have lost their last 2 competitive fixtures, with the previous defeat coming at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League prior to the World Cup.
Having opened the scoring in the first minute, The Seagulls failed to build on their advantage and Aston Villa scored in the 20th minute before netting the winner 9 minutes into the second half.
Trends show Brighton are undefeated in 6 of their last 9 away league fixtures and have seen over 2.5 goals and both teams score in 4 of their last 5 league games on the road.
Brighton are unbeaten in 7 of their last 8 away matches against Southampton in all competitions.
Team news and Southampton are without the injured quartet of Roméo Lavia, Theo Walcott, Juan Larios, and Valentino Livramento.
Brighton have doubts over the fitness of Adam Webster and Danny Welbeck. Alexis Mac Allister has been celebrating Argentina’s success at the World Cup and is unavailable.
Southampton have been struggling in the Premier League and could be in for another difficult afternoon on Boxing Day.
This game should see over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring, with Brighton coming away with maximum points.