Leeds United travel to the St. Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton in their second Premier League encounter of the season.
Leeds United started off the season brilliantly with a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at home. Wolves were the first to strike, with Daniel Podence scoring in the sixth minute to start things off. However, Leeds held their own and scored once in each half to come out with all three points.
Rodrigo Moreno equalised for them in the 24th minute before Rayan Ait-Nouri’s own goal in the 74th minute sent the Whites into the lead, which they held on to until the final whistle.
Southampton, on the other hand, were blown away by a promising Tottenham Hotspur side. The Saints took the lead through James Ward-Prowse in the 12th minute but Spurs didn’t allow them many chances after that, taking the game by the scruff of its neck. Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier and Dejan Kulusevski, all scored once each while Mohammed Salisu scored an own goal to give Antonio Conte’s men a 4-1 victory.
Southampton will quickly want to shake off the disappointment from that defeat as they face Leeds in what could be a six-pointer, considering the two sides might be involved in a relegation battle later this season.
Team News & Tactics
Southampton
? @Lyanco
The latest fitness update from the boss as #SaintsFC prepare to host #LUFC:
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) August 11, 2022
Southampton do not have many injury concerns for the match, but we could still see a few changes to the XI that started against Tottenham.
Centre-back Lyanco is the only fresh injury concern, whereas long-term absentee Tino Livramento will also miss out on Leeds’ visit. Theo Walcott is yet to gain match fitness.
Ralph Hassenhuttl is expected to continue with the 5-3-2 that he fielded against Tottenham. There is a possibility that the two wing-backs will push much forward than they did against Spurs as Leeds don’t carry the same attacking threat on the flanks as Antonio Conte’s men.
We expect the Austrian tactician to make two changes in the lineup with Romain Perraud coming in for Moussa Djenepo, and Che Adams coming in for Adam Armstrong. The rest of the starting XI could stay the same.
Probable Lineup (5-3-2): Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Valery, Bednarek, Salisu, Perraud; Ward-Prowse, Lavia, Romeu; Adams, Aribo
Leeds United
Jesse Marsch welcomes the likes of Adam Forshaw, Liam Cooper and Luis Sinisterra back to the squad. Daniel James also returns to the squad after missing three matches due to a suspension he picked last season.
However, the American tactician will continue to be without Luke Ayling, Stuart Dallas, Dani van den Heuvel and Junior Firpo, who are all yet to reach match fitness.
? ????? ?? ???? ????: “We’ve had a lot more guys in training this week. Adam, Liam and Luis have all trained and are eligible for the weekend.” pic.twitter.com/Qmzfbpb2Kt
— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 11, 2022
Though he is welcoming multiple players back into the matchday squad, it is unlikely that any of them will be thrown straight into the action. Therefore, we could see an unchanged XI fielded by Jesse Marsch against Southampton.
Illan Meslier ought to man the goal, with Robin Kock and Diego Llorente protecting him from the centre-back slots. Pascal Struijk should again feature as left-back for the Whites while new signings Marc Roca and Tyler Adams form the midfield double pivot.
Brenden Aaronson, who impressed in the opening game, will look to carry on from where he left off as he looks to strike up a fruitful partnership with Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo & co.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Kristensen, Koch, Llorente, Struijk; Roca, Adams; Aaronson, Rodrigo, Harrison; Bamford
Key Stats
- The last meeting between Southampton and Leeds finished in a 1-1 stalemate.
- Southampton have just won one of the last four meetings between the two sides.
- The last meeting at St. Mary’s between these two sides saw the home side emerge victorious by a 1-0 scoreline.
- Except for the match-up between the two sides earlier this year, the last time both the teams scored in a Southampton-Leeds encounter was back in 2011 in the Championship, with the Saints winning 3-1.
- The Saints have won just one of their last four home matches across competitions, including club-friendly encounters.
Player to Watch
Rodrigo Moreno
Since arriving from Valencia in the 2020 summer window, Rodrigo has failed to do anything of note in two seasons with Leeds United. He has scored a total of 14 goals for them in 62 appearances across competitions in two years.
But he has started the new season in fine fashion, scoring in their 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers to open his account. If the former Valencia ace continues in a similar vein, he will definitely be one to watch out for against Southampton.
Prediction
Southampton 0-1 Leeds United
The last couple of meetings between the two sides haven’t seen a lot of goals scored. Therefore, we see the upcoming encounter to follow a similar pattern. Moreover, this is just their second match of the season, making it difficult for either team to gel up well enough to punish the other side. We expect Leeds United to emerge victorious by a 1-0 margin.
