In their first Premier League game since relegation was confirmed in the Championship, Southampton will face a tough trip to the South Coast to face Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon.
The Saints’ fate was sealed with a 2-0 defeat to Fulham the previous weekend, and Roberto de Gervi’s men fell 4-1 against Newcastle United in mid-week.
During the first 45 minutes of Thursday’s match at St James’ Park, Brighton were completely unrecognizable having beaten title challengers Arsenal at the Emirates last weekend. Goal and first half Dan Bern header.
Underwood went from villain to hero early in the second period, sparking a frenetic finale, but late-goal mouse action put an end to Brighton as Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimarães came out on top against their opponents in the dying embers. Saw while leaving of the box. Seagull in bird competition.
Uncharacteristically reluctant to shoot, Brighton could almost forget the night under the bright lights of the Champions League, but the Seagulls are comfortably sixth in the table, one point better than Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, who have games in hand . Two Clubs.
De Zerbi’s rotation fleet, unfazed by his team selection, has been turned upside down, some at St James’ Park, and Brighton will not be welcome home this weekend after their recent Bank Holiday defeat at the hands of Everton. Had to bear the humiliation. ,
However, Brighton quickly responded to the defeat with six consecutive wins in the Premier League. It hasn’t been a losing streak in the top flight since October. There had been no home win in the previous 11 Premier League meetings between Brighton and Southampton.
Pictures of Southampton’s iconic 2014 Premier League squad dominated social media last week. The club that produced the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Sadio Mane and Toby Alderweireld remains top of the table in a decade in English football. Ending.
Even the presence of Rishi Sunak didn’t help Ruben Seles’ team look their best during Fulham’s visit to St Mary’s last weekend, as goals from Carlos Vinicius and Aleksandar Mitrovic sealed the Saints’ promotion to 2023-24. officially condemned Championship football. I couldn’t help but be inspired.
Avoiding last place is now the only consolation Southampton can hope for, but even pushing Leicester City into 19th place now seems out of reach. Staggering goal difference.
Southampton, who don’t have much of a load on their shoulders, can at least work out of their shackles in their last two games against Brighton and Liverpool, but they head into the Amex with four straight losses and no win in 11 years. Haven’t won. following the game against Leicester in early March.
The last six Premier League meetings between Brighton and Southampton have seen both teams finding the net and the Saints recorded a 2-2 draw at the Amex last season but the Seagulls won 3-1. Earlier in the period, St. Mary’s extended their unbeaten run to four matches against the hapless visitors.
Some egos could be hurt at St James’ Park, but Brighton suffered no new injury problems during the week, which is a minor positive for De Zerbi amid his team’s current fitness status.
Tariq Lamptey (knee), Solly March (thigh), Jeremy Sarmiento (ankle), Adam Lallana (thigh), Jacob Moder (knee), and Adam Webster will all have to sit back, and Joel Veltman’s participation will also be due to concerns about his injury. The reason is the thigh. because of the wind. Meanwhile, recently sacked goalkeeper Robert Sanchez has been allowed to stay at home for Brighton’s last two days.
With his changes not paying dividends in Tyneside, De Zerbi will have to miss out on regulars Alexis McAllister, Ivan Ferguson and Levi Colville, who missed Thursday to exhaustion, as Jan Paul van Hecke and Players like Danny Welbeck prepare to drop out.
For Southampton, Seles will also have to work with the same group of players who failed against Fulham, but Che Adams could return to bolster the visitors’ attacking ranks.
Romain Peraud (ankle), Armel Bella-Kotchap (thigh), Juan Larios (thigh), Mohamed Salisu (groin) and Valentino Livramento (fitness) form a known absent quintet for the visitors. The players around him who only put their pride at stake.
Alex McCarthy’s goalscoring time could be over with the return of Gavin Bajunu, while Kamaldin Suleimana, Sekou Mara and even the barely-appearing Mislav Orsic could be on Seles’ mind.
Strange things can happen when:With a team already sentenced to relegation and given Brighton’s recent blunders against lower-tier teams, Southampton should give the tired Seagull the freedom to attack the back line this weekend.
However, there is no doubt about this gung-ho approach and with some key players expected to return to the first XI, Brighton once again followed up a shock defeat with the home side’s first major win in 12 tries. Will happen. In this match – to get their Europa League charge back on track.