Premier League
Southampton vs Arsenal Preview
St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton – Southampton welcome Arsenal to St Mary’s on Sunday in the Premier League, for what is Ralph Hasenhuttl’s home debut as Saints manager.
The Austrian manager suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Cardiff in his first match in charge, so will be looking for a reaction on his home debut.
However, a defeat of Arsenal may still not be enough to guide Southampton out of the bottom three on Sunday, dependent on results elsewhere.
The Gunners, on the other hand, have their own ambitions on moving up the table.
Arsenal could also increase the gap between themselves in fifth and Manchester United in sixth to a massive 11 points, further increasing the pressure on Jose Mourinho.
Previous Encounters:
- Southampton are winless in their last four games against Arsenal in all competitions (D1 L3), since a 2-0 victory in the League Cup quarter-final in November 2016.
- Arsenal have lost just two of their last 17 games against Southampton in the Premier League (W9 D6), with both of those defeats coming in 2015 with Ronald Koeman in charge of the Saints.
View From Both Camps:
Ralph Hasenhuttl (Southampton):
“It’s not difficult to get a good atmosphere in St Mary’s; it needs one chance and they are immediately behind us.” “We want to be brave from the first minute.”
“The guys have invested a lot this week; we are talking about a style that has many new things for some of them and it is a process that doesn’t change just from one day to another.”
“If the fans go with me on this, then they will find a very rewarding journey.”
Unai Emery (Arsenal):
“I believe in my players, we can use another player like a centre-back with a performance.”
“I have one idea on my mind but we need to know how Laurent has recovered and whether he can play on Sunday. Every player is now okay to help in the position we need.”
“For us it’s also very important and we’re going to prepare to impose our idea, our quality, our performance. It’s a tough match against Southampton.”
“They changed their coach but they have the same players. We know Sunday is a very difficult game for us and they are going to play with their supporters pushing a lot against us. They need the three points.”
Team News:
Danny Ings, Shane Long and Cedric Soares are in contention to play for Southampton.
However, full-back Ryan Bertrand and centre-back Jack Stephens are out with injury.
Arsenal face a defensive crisis as Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi are suspended while Rob Holding (knee) and Konstantinos Mavropanos (groin) are injured, leaving Laurent Koscielny being the only recognized center-back available but has only just returned from a long-term Achilles problem.
Striker Danny Welbeck (ankle) and midfielder Emile Smith Rowe (hip) are also sidelined
Predicted Lineups:
Southampton (4-3-3): McCarthy; Soares, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Hojbjerg, Romeu, Lemina; Redmond, Armstrong, Austin.
Arsenal (4-3-3): Leno; Bellerin, Koscielny, Monreal, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Torreira, Guendouzi; Iwobi, Aubameyang Lacazette.
Match Prediction:
Hasenhuttl will be expecting a performance full of commitment and desire from his new side, but you cannot back against Arsenal in this game. The North London outfit are finding goals easy to come by, and are expected to continue that on the South coast.
Prediction: Southampton 0-2 Arsenal
Photo credit to OP Marketing via Flickr
