Southampton and Leicester City will be desperate to pick up all three points when they lock horns at St. Mary’s on Saturday.
The international break is done and dusted, heralding the return of club football. The Premier League will witness the advent of Gameweek 8 of the 2024/25 season with the London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. The action on Saturday will continue with five subsequent fixtures, including Southampton vs Leicester City at St. Mary’s.
Southampton might have shown some promise with an eye-catching brand of football in the first few weeks of the 2024/25 season. However, the Saints do not have the quality to blow away their opponents, which has been the case thus far this term. Russell Martin’s men are second from bottom in the Premier League standings after managing only one point in seven outings.
On the other hand, Leicester City came into the 2024/25 season on the back of winning the EFL Championship title last term. However, the Foxes have endured a trial by fire and will likely be in the relegation dogfight throughout the 2024/25 campaign. Nevertheless, Steve Cooper is turning things around of late, with the former champions losing only one of their four most recent ties.
The corresponding fixture in the EFL Championship last season saw Leicester City cruise to a 4-1 win over Southampton, with Kamaldeen Sulemana seeing red. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Southampton
Russell Stewart has greeted positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Southampton manager will be bereft of the services of only three first-team players vs Leicester City on Saturday.
Will Smallbone and Kamaldeen Sulemana have regained fitness and are available to take on Leicester City. However, Jack Stephens (suspension), Ross Stewart (calf), and Gavin Bazunu (achilles) remain on the sidelines, with Stephens serving the last of his ban.
Aaron Ramsdale is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Southampton lining up in a 3-5-2 formation in front of him vs Leicester City on Saturday. The central defensive unit should feature Jan Bednarek, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Kyle Walker-Peters. Yukinari Sugawara and Ryan Manning will be the two wing-backs, with the duo providing the width in the final third.
The two wing-backs will flank Joe Aribo, Flynn Downes, and Mateus Fernandes, with the latter providing the creative impetus from the middle of the park. Finally, Cameron Archer should be the central striker, with Tyler Dibling completing the numbers in the offensive department.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Ramsdale; Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Walker-Peters; Sugawara, Aribo, Downes, Fernandes, Manning; Dibling, Archer
Leicester City
Unlike his counterpart in the Southampton dugout, Steve Cooper has not seen any changes in his resources ahead of the trip to St. Mary’s. The Leicester City manager will be bereft of the services of three first-team players on Saturday.
Jakub Stolarczyk and Patson Daka are still recovering from their ankle injuries. The duo will unlikely return before next month’s international break. Meanwhile, Hamza Choudhury’s shoulder issue will keep him on the sidelines until December.
Mads Hermansen will take his usual spot between the sticks, with Leicester City lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Southampton on Saturday. The backline should feature James Justin, Caleb Okoli, Wout Faes, and Victor Kristiansen.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Wilfred Ndidi and Oliver Skipp. The duo will aim to keep things tight in the middle of the park, with the latter providing the forward thrust during transitions. Finally, Jamie Vardy will lead the line for Leicester City against Southampton, with Stephy Mavididi, Facundo Buonanotte, and Jordan Ayew completing the numbers in the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Justin, Okoli, Faes, Kristiansen; Ndidi, Skipp; Ayew, Buonanotte, Mavididi; Vardy
Key Stats
- Southampton did the Premier League double vs Leicester City in 2022/23 but lost both meetings in the EFL Championship last season by an aggregate score of 9-1. The Foxes are winless in three Premier League away games against Southampton since their English top-flight record 9-0 win in October 2019 (D2 L1).
- Failure to win on Saturday will mean Southampton will have set a club top-flight record of 21 consecutive matches without a win. However, their most recent Premier League win was 1-0 at home to Leicester City in March 2023.
- Leicester City are one of only three teams, along with Arsenal and Manchester City, to score in every Premier League game thus far this season despite taking the fewest shots of any top-flight club this term (58 shots).
- Southampton have gone 19 Premier League matches without a clean sheet, the current joint-longest run in the top flight along with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
- Only Harry Kane has scored more Premier League away goals at St. Mary’s than Jamie Vardy (5). The Leicester City striker’s haul includes a hat-trick in October 2019.
Player to Watch
Tyler Dibling
While Jamie Vardy will invariably be in the spotlight this weekend, we have picked Tyler Dibling as our Player to Watch for Saturday’s match. The teenage prospect might not have been a highly prolific attacker thus far this season, but he has been the standout performer for Southampton.
The English whizkid has one goal and two assists in nine appearances across all competitions thus far this term. Dibling will be the go-to man for Russell Martin if the Southampton manager wants to take something from Saturday’s game at St. Mary’s.
Prediction
Southampton 1-2 Leicester City
The two meetings between Southampton and Leicester City were a procession, with the Foxes cruising to two comfortable wins. However, the Premier League presents different challenges, and the home side will be in contention to take something from Saturday’s game.
Tyler Dibling will be the difference-maker for Southampton and breach Mads Hermansen’s net. However, James Justin and Jamie Vardy should deliver the goods for Leicester City, with The Hard Tackle predicting the away side to eke a narrow 2-1 win vs Southampton this weekend.