Another weekend in the Premier League kicks off on the south coast on Friday night when Southampton host Bournemouth in the Solent derby, with third spot in the table for a day at least the reward for the winners.
Both teams have made perfectly acceptable starts to their campaign and one will kick on and make their beginning extremely good. This isn’t a fierce derby like the one Saints will play next week, but neither of these sides are likely to give an inch.
Southampton
After starting off the season with successive defeats, Southampton fans could have been forgiven for thinking that this would be another year of struggle but seven points out of nine since then have them heading in the right direction here and if they can pick up a victory in this match, they should be able to settle into their work and relax a little and let their best football flow. That would make them a dangerous side.
If there is a criticism of this Southampton side at present then it comes in the fact that there is a shortage of goals in them. Part of that has been the absence of Nathan Redmond but they will have expected more from summer signing Che Adams. If they can get him firing nicely then everything should round into place because they have looked much harder to break down in recent times.
Bournemouth
If Bournemouth are ever going to kick on to the next step in the Premier League then it is their away form that simply has to improve. If they can build that up to the level expected then there is nothing stopping them from breaking into the top half because they play the right way and they have a young squad which if kept together should learn and get even stronger. There is no disguising just how poor their away form has been over the last couple of seasons though.
Unlike their opponents here, scoring goals is not an issue for the Cherries. Keeping them out of their net is very much a different story though, especially away from home, and it is that which needs to improve. Whether they have to change their ways and play a couple of defensive midfielders and utilise their pace on the counter I’m not sure but what they are doing isn’t working.
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Team News
Southampton have been hit by the news that Moussa Djenepo is out with a muscle issue. They could have Nathan Redmond back for this match although whether he is fit to start remains to be seen. Kevin Danso returns from suspension.
The match is expected to come too soon for Bournemouth duo Lloyd Kelly and Simon Francis so Jack Stacey is likely to continue at right-back. Eddie Howe could name an unchanged side as he goes in search of a second straight win.
Betting
These two have a history of drawing matches and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that is the outcome in this match either but in truth there isn’t a huge amount that I like in terms of the match betting itself. Southampton feel a little short to me but I’m not sure I could trust Bournemouth so maybe the draw is the play but I’m not keen on backing draws.
I like the idea of goals in this match. Both of Bournemouth’s away matches this season have contained at least three goals and I suspect this is one of those matches which both sides will believe they can win and that should in turn equate to an open enough game where chances come along fairly regularly. These two drew 3-3 last season and while we might not get that many goals here I do think we’ll get a return on over 2.75 goals.
Tips
WON – Back Over 2.75 goals for a 4/10 stake at 1.87 with BetVictor
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