Southampton face Bournemouth this evening at St Mary’s Stadium, with both teams looking to progress after good results last weekend.
Saints go into tonight’s clash off the back of an encouraging 1-0 win over Premier League newcomers Sheffield United after Moussa Djenepo lit up Bramall Lane with a wonder-goal.
Bournemouth beat Everton 3-1 last time out, with Callum Wilson’s brace and Ryan Fraser punishing a defensively weak Toffees side. However, the Cherries failed to keep a clean sheet, after Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored just before the break.
There are some injury concerns for Saints to ponder, with Djenepo ruled out after a recurrence of his muscle problem.
However, Kevin Danso will be available once again after he served his one-match ban. Meanwhile, Nathan Redmond could return to the team and is close to making a full recovery from his ankle injury.
For Bournemouth, Junior Stanislas, Adam Smith, Dan Gosling, David Brooks, Charlie Daniels and Arnaut Groeneveld all remain injured for the game, but Lloyd Kelly and Simon Francis are pushing to return to the fold.
This should be an entertaining game, with both teams entering good form. Both the Saints and the Cherries will want to win this one.
Read Southampton’s verdict
With Saints playing well at the moment, I believe Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men will have what it takes to beat Bournemouth, but it will be no easy task against Eddie Howe’s very strong side.
Djenepo will be a big miss in the attack, but with Redmond lined up for his return and with Che Adams and Sofiane Boufal hungry for their first goals of the season, I think Saints will have enough to beat the Cherries.
