Southampton in search of maiden season win as Leicester City visits.

2024-10-13

As Southampton search for their first win of the season to avoid setting an unwanted club record, newly promoted rivals Leicester City arrive at St. Mary’s with hopes of securing back-to-back victories and continuing their adaptation to life in the Premier League.

Southampton

Newly promoted Southampton are struggling to find their footing in the Premier League, remaining winless after a 3-1 loss to third-placed Arsenal. This marked their fourth defeat in five league games, with the team's current form showing a draw amidst back-to-back losses.

With just one point [0W, 1D, 6L], Southampton find themselves in 19th place heading into the weekend's clash. They hope to turn their luck around against fellow promoted side Leicester City.

Despite doing the double over Leicester in their last Premier League campaign of 2022–23, Southampton were swept by the Foxes in the Championship last season. Adding to their woes, the Saints remain winless in their last 20 Premier League games, bringing a grim [0W, 5D, 15L] record into this match.

A failure to secure a win would see them set a club record for the longest winless run in their top-flight history. Southampton are expected to line up in a 4—2—3—1 formation, with Cameron Archer leading the attack.

Manager Russell Martin will be without Jack Stephens, who is serving the final match of a four-match ban.

Leicester City

Although Leicester City sit at the lower end of the Premier League table, in 15th place, they have settled into life in the top flight much better than the Saints. The Foxes have accumulated 6 points from 1 win, 3 draws, and 3 losses, five more than their counterparts, following a recent 1-0 win over Bournemouth. It was the club’s maiden win of the season.

Steve Cooper will hope that back-to-back victories over the hosts in the Championship will inspire his side when they visit St. Mary’s Stadium this weekend. However, Leicester City remain winless in their last three Premier League away games against Southampton, with 2 draws and 1 loss, a run that dates back to 2019.

Following their first victory since returning to the Premier League, a win for Leicester City would mean back-to-back victories for the first time since February 2023. Steve Cooper, expected to deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation with Jamie Vardy in attack, is looking forward to the return of several players after the international break.

"We’re waiting for a few players to come back, but everybody is as they were before the break," he said in an injury update, before discussing the status of Ndidi, Patson Daka, and Jannik Vestergaard.