The Premier League returns from the break for the FA Cup last weekend on Tuesday evening with a clash between two sides who are in the bottom half but should be safe from danger this term as Southampton host Brentford.
Both sides made it through in the cup at the weekend and will carry a bit of confidence from that forward with them and with them both looking up rather than over their shoulders there should be an entertainment around this match.
Southampton
Southampton are in one of those glass half full or half empty stages of their season. They have only won one of their last six in the Premier League but at the same time they have only lost once in that period as well. I think a few judges would have had them fairly high on the list for a side potentially upset in the FA Cup at the weekend but although they needed extra time they got the better of the Welsh side in the end and can make some progress in that competition now.
Saints have gone from having a better defensive record than you would think this season to not keeping a clean sheet in their last eight matches and they will need to return to keeping things tight if they want to achieve their aims this season. You would imagine a bit of wheeling and dealing will take place this month to strengthen them up a little for what could be a busy second half of the season, but a win here would see them carry good form forward with them.
Brentford
I think if you had said to Thomas Frank at the beginning of the season that approaching the middle of January his side would be sat in 12th place with 23 points at the halfway mark and through to the fourth round of the FA Cup he would have gladly signed up for that. There is a feeling that Brentford might not have got everything they could out of the season purely because they started it so well, but the aim of any side coming into this league has to be to remain in it and the Londoners are well on course for that.
Injuries have hit Brentford in the latter part of the season so far but slowly and surely some key players are getting back on the pitch and the Covid issues which forced matches to be cancelled look to be behind them so I’m sure the Bees will be looking to get back to their form of the beginning of the season. That consisted of them being tight at the back and then getting the better of teams either on the counterattack or set-pieces.
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Team News
Southampton will be delighted to welcome Che Adams back after he has served his Covid isolation period. Mohammed Salisu is also back from suspension but Moussa Djenepo is away at the Africa Cup of Nations and the likes of Alex McCarthy, Yan Valery, Kyle Walker-Peters and Tino Livramento are all unavailable.
Brentford also have a couple of returning players for this match with Sergi Canos and Mathias Jensen having recovered from injury. Unfortunately Frank Onyeka is now at the Africa Cup of Nations while Rico Henry, Josh Dasilva and David Raya are still injured.
Betting
I don’t think this is a particularly easy match to bet on because although it is a free hit for both of them there is a vulnerability to them both. Southampton seem to find it hard to win matches these while Brentford have been a bit hit and miss of their own. I certainly wouldn’t want to take a short price about Southampton so I’m going to look for a bit of value to keep us interested in this one and that might come in the half time/full time market.
Southampton are generally fast starters to matches. They have taken the lead in the first half of five of their last six matches but have only won one of those so that could be something to exploit. Brentford’s last two wins have both been when trailing at one stage and they were behind to Leeds just before that only to reach the front before being denied late on. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one following a similar pattern so a point on the Southampton/Draw and Southampton/Brentford HT/FT outcomes might yield some joy.
Tips
Back HT/FT – Southampton/Draw for a 1/10 stake at 17.00 with William Hill
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Back HT/FT – Southampton/Brentford for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Coral
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