Fresh from their progression in the FA Cup against Watford at the weekend, Southampton face a visit from Brighton in the Premier League in a vital encounter for both sides.
The two teams come into the match in a similar position, with just one point separating them ahead of kick-off, which just highlights the importance of the contest.
Following promotion, the Seagulls sit in 16th place and just two positions above their hosts as the battle to avoid the drop intensifies.
The most recent meeting between the two at St Mary’s Stadium came back in 2011 when Southampton ran out 3-0 winners in front of their supporters on their way to sealing promotion to the Premier League.
Saints lined up strongly and put in a brilliant performance against the Seagulls:
Davis, Richardson, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox, Cork, Chaplow, Hammond, Lallana, Lambert, Do Prado
Saints were dominant throughout the whole game but couldn’t make their pressure tell until the second-half as they were forced to go into the break level pegging after a tight opening 45 minutes.
It took until four minutes into the second-half for the Saints to take the lead as Rickie Lambert netted his first of the day to give his side a deserved lead.
The goals quickly flowed after that as Lambert netted two penalties before the 70-minute mark to complete his hat-trick and ensure that the Saints would be claiming all three points.
The visitors were also reduced to ten men as Mauricio Taricco was sent off for a straight red in the 56th minute whilst Alan Navarro, Iñigo Calderón, Craig Noone and Ashley Barnes all picked up yellow cards during the match.
Saints duo Do Prado and Hammond were also cautioned but it made no difference to the final outcome on the day.
As long ago as this was, Saints will need to put in a similar kind of performance if they are to claim a victory from this season’s fixture at St Mary’s.
