Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

Preview: Southampton vs. Leicester City - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 13 September 2023, 11:00
Southampton and Leicester City square off in the Championship on Friday evening having both suffered surprise defeats last time out.

On the same day that the Saints were thrashed by Sunderland, the Foxes went down at home to Hull City, leaving the clubs in seventh and third place in the table respectively.

Match preview

Having come through a transitional period with 10 points from four matches, Russell Martin would have been delighted with the start that had been made by his Southampton side.

However, much of the positivity from the opening weeks of the season was lost as Southampton shockingly suffered a 5-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

While seven goals conceded from their first four fixtures suggested that defence was not their forte, the manner in which they succumbed to the Black Cats will concern Martin.

The acquisition of Taylor Harwood-Bellis could prove to be a difference maker in time, yet Martin will not want to heap too much pressure on his shoulders when Southampton as a team need to improve at the back.

On a positive note for the South-coast outfit, they remain in seventh place and have the opportunity to move ahead of their upcoming opponents in the standings.

Like Southampton, Leicester cannot claim to have been convincing during the early weeks of the season under new head coach Enzo Maresca.

Nevertheless, six successive wins - all without scoring more than twice in a single game - were registered before they hosted Hull before the international break.

Even when going a goal behind during the early stages, Maresca and his Foxes players would have expected to overturn the scoreline, yet it was the Tigers who impressively held out for maximum points.

Although Leicester remain just a point off top spot, succumbing to Hull served as a reminder that they cannot afford to assume that they will earn an immediate return to the Premier League without matching their quality with consistency.

Southampton Championship form:

W

D

W

W

L

Southampton form (all competitions):

W

L

D

W

W

L

Leicester City Championship form:

W

W

W

W

L

Leicester City form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

W

L

Advert - content below:

Team News

With Che Adams having remained at Southampton, the Scotland international could be recalled to the starting lineup with Sekou Mara dropping out.

Harwood-Bellis is in line to make his debut, likely alongside Jan Bednarek, while Shea Charles, Carlos Alcaraz and Ryan Fraser are also pushing for opportunities.

Will Smallbone proved his fitness after an ankle injury against Sunderland and with Republic of Ireland during the international break, leaving the midfielder in line to start this game.

After a switch to a back three failed to pay off against Hull, Leicester boss Maresca may revert to a 4-3-3 formation.

That would see Ricardo Pereira and Callum Doyle occupy the full-back positions and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall feature in a central midfield three.

However, Stephy Mavididi could be recalled on one of the flanks with either Yunus Akgun or Kasey McAteer dropping down to the substitutes' bench.

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Manning; Smallbone, Downes, S.Armstrong; A.Armstrong, Adams, Edozie

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Doyle; Ndidi, Winks, Dewsbury-Hall; Mavididi, Iheanacho, McAteer

We say: Southampton 1-1 Leicester City

Given how they fared last time out, we are expecting a much tighter affair, one which may benefit the visitors more so than the hosts. Nevertheless, the Saints can only have benefitted from some time on the training pitch after the recent upheaval, leaving us to predict a hard-fought share of the spoils.

Previews by email

Top News

16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal are reportedly prepared to rival Chelsea for highly-rated Deportivo La Coruna attacker Yeremay Hernandez. 16 February 2025 talksport.com If there was any doubt about Trent Alexander-Arnold's status as a Liverpool legend, his latest feat has put that to bed. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly identified Atalanta star Charles de Ketelaere as a potential replacement for Kevin De Bruyne. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Erling Haaland celebrated Manchester City's victory over Newcastle with a mighty lamb chop to give fans a glimpse into his whopping diet. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal wing wizard Ethan Nwaneri broke a Premier League record in his 'Lionel Messi-like' performance against Leicester City on Saturday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly prepared to table a €100m (£83m) bid for Barcelona defender Jules Kounde, who is seemingly set to be offered a new contract by the Catalan club. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Ian Wright was one of the best strikers during his prime - but he'd be a shadow of the player he was if he was competing today. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal cult hero Luis Boa Morte and Middlesbrough legend George Boateng are both set to be interviewed by Blackburn, talkSPORT understands. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk With a Champions League last-16 tie against either Barcelona or Liverpool on the line, Benfica and Monaco reconvene for the second leg of their playoff battle on Tuesday night at the Estadio da Luz. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will be aiming to overturn a first-leg deficit when they head to Spain on Wednesday for the second leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff with Real Madrid. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu for the second leg of their playoff clash on Wednesday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has two mouthwatering games on Sunday and talkSPORT has all the latest. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Taking a slender lead to San Siro, Feyenoord endeavour to finish the job on AC Milan when they reconvene for Tuesday's Champions League playoff second leg. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has confirmed that he has undergone surgery on the severe knee injury that he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford is reportedly still hopeful of completing a 'dream switch' to Barcelona during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to make a €150m (£125m) move for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hatayspor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) Round 24 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign pits relegation candidates Hatayspor against mid-table Alanyaspor at the Mersin Stadyumu on Sunday evening. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nijmegen vs. Almere City (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it back-to-back wins and move closer to escaping the foot of the Eredivisie table, Almere City will travel to the Goffertstadion on Sunday to take on NEC. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 1.00pm) Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to 15 matches when they head to Espanyol on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fiorentina vs. Como (Sunday, 11.30am) Top-four contenders Fiorentina will aim to boost their hopes of European qualification on Sunday, as they welcome Serie A strugglers Como to Stadio Franchi. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) European hopefuls Werder Bremen will welcome relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to Weserstadion on Sunday in their 22nd Bundesliga game of the season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Montpellier vs. Lyon (Sunday, 2.00pm) Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hearts vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Hearts host Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, hoping to boost their chances of qualifying for European football next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool vs. Wolves (Sunday, 2.00pm) With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could face a difficult test at Anfield on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will have to show improvements from last time out, Reds expert David Lynch has argued. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo took to Instagram and confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time after suffering an injury in training. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has hinted that he would be happy to stay at Anfield despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly accepted that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will leave in the summer transfer window, and are said to be willing to do business for a fee of £30-40m. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch.
there is nothing here yet