Southampton-Brentford is a Week 7 Premier League rescheduled fixture and is played on Wednesday at 8:30pm: live TV, odds, predictions
Ruben Selles, 39-year-old Spanish coach hitherto unknown to most, seems to have found the solution to get Southampton going again. Or at least to enable them to stay in the race for safety. The Saints are last in the table with 22 points, but the twelfth, Crystal Palace, have only five more. Nobody on the right-hand side of the table is a goner in an increasingly exciting fight to stay in the top flight.
That the team is healthy was also clearly seen last Sunday, when Selles and his men emerged unscathed from Old Trafford, forcing Manchester United into a draw (0-0). A game that Southampton played in numerical superiority from half-time due to Casemiro’s expulsion, but in which they had more chances than the Red Devils, risking on several occasions to find the winning goal. In any case, it was a golden point for a side who were coming off a valuable victory in their direct clash with Leicester, pipped by an Alcaraz goal. With Ralph Hasenhuttl’s former assistant at the helm, the Saints have rediscovered solidity in the non-possession phase, conceding just one goal in the last four league games. The points tally is also significantly higher (seven against three) than his predecessor Nathan Jones’ three months on the red and white bench.
A match not to be missed against Brentford, theoretically still in the running for a place in the next European cups.
Hickey
The Bees are having a fantastic championship and we’ve said it many times. But Europe is still perhaps too much bigger than them, as last weekend’s defeat against another team trying to come out of a difficult situation like Everton shows. In short, in this period motivation starts to make the difference and it is not to be excluded that the Londoners can relax in front of opponents fighting for survival.
The Prediction
Southampton may be able to at least avoid defeat in a match where both teams are likely to score.
The likely Southampton-Brentford line-up
- SOUTHAMPTON (4-3-3): Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Bella-Kotchap, Bednarek, Perraud; Lavia, Ward-Prowse, Alcaraz; Walcott, Adams, Sulemana.
- BRENTFORD (4-3-3): Raya; Hickey, Pinnock, Mee, Henry; Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
