Southampton seeks revival when Swansea visits St Mary’s.
After being relegated from the Premier League last season, Southampton assigned Will Still the challenge of bringing the club back to the top tier. However, the young coach’s introduction to life on the south coast has been far from convincing.
The former Reims and Lens manager had only two victories, five draws, and two loses in his first nine Championship games, leaving the Saints struggling to gain momentum.
Southampton have won just one of their last six league games (D4, L2), a close triumph over Sheffield United at the end of September. They followed it with a 1-1 draw at Derby County, with Adam Armstrong’s early goal cancelled out by Patrick Agyemang.
Still’s men will be anxious to get three points at St Mary’s on Saturday to kickstart their season, especially after going three home games without a win since their opening-day victory over Wrexham.
The hosts’ recent record against Swansea City is encouraging, as they have won four of their past five home games, including a dominant 3-0 FA Cup triumph in January.
Swansea aim to bounce back.
Swansea City, meanwhile, is just inside the top half of the standings after 12 points from nine games, three points behind the playoff slots ahead of their trip to the south coast.
However, Alan Sheehan’s side has struggled for consistency recently, winning only one of their last four games since their EFL Cup success over Nottingham Forest.
Narrow defeats to Birmingham City and a draw with Millwall were followed by a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers, but their momentum was dashed before the international break with a 3-1 home loss to Leicester City. Despite Adam Idah’s penalty equaliser, two late Foxes goals sealed Swansea’s first home defeat of the season.
The Welsh side will now be looking for their first victory over Southampton since 2017, and their first at St Mary’s since 2015.
Team News: Southampton
Forward Ross Stewart has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering an injury in the draw with Derby. Tom Fellows, who replaced him that day, is expected to begin this weekend.
Meanwhile, Welington continues to heal from an ankle injury.
Predicted XI lineup: McCarthy, Edwards, Wood, Quarshie, Manning; Jander, Charles; Fellows, Scienza, Fraser; Armstrong.
Swansea City announces new signing. Ricardo Santos is currently out owing to a nagging knee injury, postponing his debut. Ethan Galbraith and Zeidane Inoussa are vying for recalls after appearing on the bench against Leicester.
Zan Vipotnik is anticipated to lead the attack again, having scored four goals in eight Championship games this season.
Predicted XI: Vigouroux; Key, Cabango, Burgess, Tymon; Franco, Stamenic, Galbraith; Ronald, Inoussa, and Vipotnik.
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