We head down to the south coast this week as Southampton and Brentford prepare to collide in the Premier League.
Southampton Form GuideAfter 11 consecutive years in the Premier League, Southampton find themselves on the brink. Sure, there are plenty of other clubs in the mix down at the bottom of the table, but the Saints just can’t seem to climb out of that bottom three - at least, not for very long. They have a few impact players but their consistency, and team cohesion on the pitch, leave a lot to be desired.
Southampton may have lost to Wolves, Leeds and Grimsby (particularly bad) in recent weeks, but they’ve also had some positive moments. They earned a draw against 10-man Manchester United, edged their way past Chelsea, and also managed to beat Leicester.
Brentford Form GuideVery few could’ve pictured Brentford doing quite as well as they have upon making their way up to the top flight of English football. The Bees have shown no signs of slowing down since arriving with ‘second season syndrome’ proving to be a myth, in their case. Thomas Frank has done a wonderful job and moving forward, it seems like the only way is up (for now).
A shocking 1-0 loss away at Everton served as a breaking of the unbeaten run that Brentford had been on in months gone by. Since the end of January alone they’d beaten Southampton and Fulham to go alongside nice draws with Leeds, Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
Latest Team NewsWhile Livramento and Larios continue to sit on the shelf, Maitland-Niles’ fitness will be assessed before kick off after he missed out against United.
Strakosha and Lewis-Potter are both out of action for this one due to an ankle and a knee injury respectively.
Match PredictionBrentford should be seen as the favourites here but when you’re down in the midst of a relegation battle, digging deep is the name of the game - and that’s what Southampton will do here. Ultimately, though, our official prediction is going to be under 2.5 goals scored.
