Southampton and Brighton will face each other this Monday in one of the seven Premier League fixtures scheduled for that day.
Venue: Saint Mary’s Stadium (Southampton)
Key Statistics
Southampton have lost their last three PL games.
They are winless in their last four league games (D1, L3).
The Saints have conceded 27 goals in the league this season. Only Nottingham Forest (30) and Bournemouth (32) have conceded more goals.
They have the worst home record in the league, having won just one of the seven league games they’ve played at home (D3, L3).
Southampton are unbeaten at home on Boxing Day this century (W4, D2).
They have lost just once on Boxing Day in their last ten PL games (W7, D2).
Brighton have won three of their away league games (D1, L3).
They have kept one clean sheet in their last ten PL games.
The Seagulls are on a six-game run of Boxing Day away trips without a win (D1, L5).
Brighton have scored 2+ goals in ten of their last 20 matches.
Head to head
Southampton have enjoyed the superiority in this fixture, winning three of the ten Premier League meetings between both sides. Brighton have just one win and six draws.
However, the home side on the day has never won a PL encounter between these sides (D6, L4).
Latest performances in all competitions
Southampton: W-L-W-L-L
Brighton: L-D-L-W-W
Southampton
Southampton will look to get their woeful season back on track when they face Brighton on Monday.
The Saints have had a poor season and had to let go of former boss Ralph Hassenhuttle after a run of 12 points from their opening 14 games.
In his place, former Brighton coach Nathan Jones was hired. The Brtish coach opened his tenure at the Saint Mary’s with a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool before following that up with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Lincoln in the Carabao Cup.
And so, this will be the new coach’s first PL game in front of the Southampton home faithful. He recently conceded that it “will take time to play how I want” but will surely want to drag the Saints out of the relegation zone sooner rather than later.
The Saint Mary’s side could end the day outside of the relegation zone with victory, and their fans may be expectant, too, with their solid record across the last ten Boxing Day games raising hopes (W7, D2, L1).
That accompanies an unbeaten record at home on Boxing Day this century (W4, D2), so Jones will seek to keep that record alive against the side that gave him his first managerial opportunity.
Possible Southampton starting line-up
Gavin Bazunu; Kyle Walker-Peters, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Lyanco Vojnovic, Mohammed Salisu, Romain Perraud; Jamie Ward-Prowse, Ibrahima Diallo, Mohamed Elyounoussi; Adam Armstrong, Che Adams.
Injured: Theo Walcott, Valentino Livramento
Doubtful: Romeo Lavia, Juan Larios
Suspended: None
Brighton
While Southampton have continued to struggle, Brighton have blown the roof and are punching better than their weight.
The Seagulls now fly high in the top flight with a newly crowned World Cup winner amongst their ranks. Current boss Roberto De Zerbi hailed Alexis Mac Allister as “one of the best at the tournament”, although that could play into the opposition’s hands as the talented midfielder now has two weeks off!
Currently sitting in seventh place with ambitions of breaking into Europe, Brighton may no longer feel a Christmas curse after ‘sleighing’ their 11-game winless Boxing Day run with a 2-0 victory over Brentford in 2021.
They will now look to end their six-game hoodoo of Boxing Day away trips without a win (D1, L5), a stretch which began 20 years ago with a 1-0 win over Norwich.
However, two losses from their last two games, including a narrow loss to Charlton in the Carabao Cup, does not inspire so much confidence. However, having a World Cup winner in the form of Alexis Mac Allister amongst their ranks will be a confidence booster.
Current boss Roberto De Zerbi hailed the Argentina international as “one of the best at the tournament”. However, that could play into the opposition’s hands as the talented midfielder now has two weeks off.
Possible Brighton starting line-up
Robert Sanchez; Solly March, Lewis Dunk, Joel Veltman, Pervis Estupiñán; Billy Gilmour, Moisés Caicedo; Pascal Groß, Adam Lallana, Leandro Trossard; Danny Welbeck.
Injured: Adam Webster
Doubtful: Alexis Mac Allister
Suspended: None
Odds
Prediction
Southampton 1-1 Brighton
