Afternoon all. So, who would have thought that after three games, Norwich would have more points on the board than Southampton? Well, that's what has happened! Here, the winless Saints will be looking for their first victory of the campaign against their visitors from Norfolk.

But, before we look into this encounter in more detail, let's get the teams news from the South Coast. We'll start with the home team...

SOUTHAMPTON XI: Stekelenburg; Cedric, Fonte, Yoshida, Targett; Romeu, S Davis, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Mane; Pelle

SOUTHAMPTON SUBS: K Davis, Long, Rodriguez, Martina, Reed, Juanmi, Caulker

The big news for Southampton is that once again Victor Wanyama misses out. The Kenyan midfielder has apparently told manager Ronald Koeman that he wants to leave amid supposed interest from Tottenham Hotspur. On a more positive note, Sadio Mane has recovered from a knock to start the game, but loanee defender Steven Caulker is only among the substitutes. Instead, Koeman has opted for Maya Yoshida to partner captain Jose Fonte in the heart of the defence.

© Getty Images

And, according to Southampton's official Twitter page, Koeman has just said that Wanyama was not "mentally and physically good enough to play" today. Surely an exit is inevitable now?

Now for the Norwich starting lineup...

NORWICH XI: Ruddy; Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Brady; Redmond, Tettey, Dorrans, Howson, Hoolahan; Jerome

NORWICH SUBS: Rudd, Wisdom, Johnson, Hooper, R Bennett, O'Neil, Van Wolfswinkel

Ricky van Wolfswinkel may have got his name on the scoresheet against Rotherham United in the League Cup during the week, but that is not enough to earn the Dutchman a place in the starting lineup. In fact, manager Alex Neil has stuck with the same side that claimed a draw last week against Stoke City at Carrow Road. Cameron Jerome will lead the attack, with the likes of Nathan Redmond and Wes Hoolahan offering support from advanced midfield roles.

Also it's worth pointing out that there is no Lewis Grabban in the Norwich squad. Like Southampton's Wanyama, rumour has it that the striker wants out. He remains suspended by the club after storming out of the team hotel last week.

It's already been mentioned that the home side have been in poor form so far this season, but speaking to Sky Sports News just now, Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse insisted that the team is determined to bounce back today.

"We are very determined [to bounce back from the poor results]. We've had a lot of success over the last few years and we want to put the disappointment of the European exit behind us. It's going to be very tough. They'll be coming here full of confidence."

Meanwhile, in the Norwich corner, midfielder Alex Tettey had this to say: "We just want to play how we do at home. We don't want to sit back. It's a very good time to play them. We are going out there to win."

Famous Norwich supporter Stephen Fry is enjoying himself it would seem!

Here at St. Mary's to watch Norwich take on Southampton. Just met Matt le Tissier so I feel as if I've already won. — Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) August 30, 2015

13 NOT OUT! Will Mr Fry be watching his side set a new club record today? Since manager Neil took charge in January, the Canaries have not lost an away game. That's 12 matches, nine of which they have won. If they can avoid defeat today and extend that to 13 encounters, that will break the record.

Also, here is something out Norwich will be looking to achieve this afternoon:

#NCFC are bidding to win back-to-back matches away from home in the #BPL for the first time since Jan 2012... #SOUNOR pic.twitter.com/Er0O45yzJj — Premier League (@premierleague) August 30, 2015

What has happened to Southampton then? After all, this is a side that was hunting Champions League football for much of last season. First things first, the season is only three games old, so it's a little knee jerk to suggest that there are big problems. But, there is no getting away from the fact that they have been below par in their outings against Newcastle, Everton and Watford, as well as FC Midtjylland in the Europa League. A win today, though, and there will be much more positivity around the place. It would also lift them above Norwich in the table!

SPORTS MOLE SOFA! Right, as the start of this clash draws closer, why not find out what our very own Barney Corkhill and Pascal Lemesre have to say about this encounter. Hit play below.

Right, it's time to hear from the managers. First up is Koeman, who has just been speaking to Sky Sports News:

"It's been a difficult start, but a little bit expected with all the changes in the last 13 months. We play at home [today], it's the moment to go back to the basic style of playing to give the players confidence."

Meanwhile, speaking to Norwich's official website, Neil said: "They're a good team. They're established in the Premier League and they had a really good season last year. Hopefully we can go and compete really well and bring back the points," he added.

"It's going to be a tough game. Obviously they had the Europa League on Thursday, which will hopefully go in our favour. It's about getting the balance between making sure that you're creating enough chances to give you an opportunity to win the game and making sure you're not exposed at the back."

While Southampton may not be in the greatest form, they can at least take some confidence from the fact that they have not lost at home to Norwich since January 2008 when both sides were in the Championship. On that occasion Ched Evans scored the only goal of the contest.

Right, the players are now making their way out on to the pitch, where they will go through all the pre-match handshakes and the coin toss. Not long now until we are off and running at the St Mary's Stadium.

KICKOFF! Hosting Southampton, who will attack from left to right as the television cameras look on, get proceedings underway.

SAVE! Almost the perfect start for the home side. When Ward-Prowse strikes his free kick from 25 yards out, the ball seems destined for the top corner. But, visiting goalkeeper John Ruddy has other ideas as he scampers across his line to push the ball behind for a corner. That's a really good save from Norwich's former England keeper.

Aside from that Ruddy stop, there has been very little of note to mention during the opening exchanges. As you would expect the home side have had more of the ball, but they have not really worried Norwich.

It may be the Saints that are having more of the ball, but Norwich have shown on a couple of occasions that they can potentially cause problems on the counter-attack. Having said that, the final pass from the Canaries has been disappointing so far. Not the greatest of starts from either side it must be said.

SAVE! Another stop from Ruddy, although this one was much more routine. Mane cuts in from the right and fires a left-footed shot goalwards, but the Norwich keeper is down in plenty of time to hold the ball.

It's still all a bit flat, with very little quality being shown from either side. Mane just summed that viewpoint up as he tried to take on Bassong, only to badly overhit his first touch.

CHANCE! All of a sudden Norwich burst into life. Brady's cross from the left towards the back post is kept alive by Dorrans, but Jerome cannot make a clean enough connection with his headed effort and the ball ends up drifting harmlessly wide of the Southampton goal. Nevertheless, that's positive signs for the away side.

Another attack from Norwich as Redmond picks up possession midway inside the Southampton half. The winger drives forward and goes for goal, but his shot takes a deflection, which makes it an easy save for Stekelenburg.

PENALTY APPEAL! Pelle wants a penalty as he heads Tadic's cross from the right flank wide. The Southampton striker claims that he was being pulled back by Bassong, but the referee is having none of it. Replays show that was instead good defending from the Norwich centre-back.

BOOKING! The first caution of the match goes the way of Norwich's Whittaker, who blatantly stopped Southampton left-back Targett from taking a quick throw.

CHANCE! Better from Southampton as a hoisted cross from Mane is headed into the path of Tadic by an aware Pelle. The Serbian winger's shot is a low one, but it ends up skidding wide of the post.

What an earth is Whittaker thinking? Just moments after he is needlessly booked, the Scotland international receives another caution for pulling back Tadic. Had the Southampton man been through on goal, the offence would have been more understandable, but there was plenty of cover. Now he's made things much more difficult for his side, who will have to play just under an hour with 10 men.

NORWICH SUB: Unfortunately for Hoolahan, he's had to be sacrificed so that Norwich can get four defenders on the pitch. The Republic of Ireland international has been replaced by Andre Wisdom.

It looks as though it's going to be hard work for Norwich striker Jerome now. He's cut a very isolated figure ever since Whittaker was red carded. The onus is going to be on Redmond to get forward and help, but Norwich need to get some decent possession before that can happen.

PENALTY APPEAL! Pelle and Bassong are having a running battle at the moment. Not for the first time the Italian tumbles in the vicinity of the Norwich defender, but no action is taken. Once again, replays show that it wasn't a penalty.

There's a worrying moment for Norwich as Brady hits the turf and is in need of a medical attention. The number 12 is up now thankfully for the Canaries and back in the action.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

What a time to break the deadlock. Ward-Prowse slots a pass down the right flank for Mane, who in turn drills in a low cross. After that it's all about Pelle as the striker gets in front of Martin to slot his effort inside Ruddy's near post. That's Southampton's first goal since the opening day of the campaign and it's certainly livened up the home faithful!

There is no such thing as a bad time to score, but some times are certainly better than others. That goal will have lifted the Southampton players, while Norwich, who are down to 10 men don't forget, will be deflated in that dressing room now.

It's not been the greatest of first-half showings by Southampton, yet they lead and that essentially is the most important thing. Even so, they have been the better side without a doubt, but clear goalscoring chances have been few and far between. Against 10 men it can be difficult at times, but there is little doubt that Koeman will be demanding that his players add another goal or two after the restart.

As for Norwich, Neil is bound to be gutted that his team have not been able to get themselves to the break level. After the sending off of Whittaker, he would have snapped your hand off if you had offered him a 0-0 draw. Now his side need to score to get anything from the game, which means that they are going to have to get more support up to Jerome at some stage. Of course, that could well leave gaps up the other end, so it's going to be difficult to find that balance.

MATCH ACTION! Here's an image of goalscorer Pelle attempting an acrobatic overhead kick earlier in the match.

© Getty Images

RESTART! As 10-man Norwich get us back underway, there has been a change for the home side. The fit again Jay Rodriguez has replaced Steven Davis, which is certainly an attacking move by Koeman.

Not too much to report from the opening exchanges of the second half. Norwich just had half a chance to create a decent opening, but the usually reliable Brady badly overhit his cross from the left.

SAVES! You can see why Southampton are so desperate to keep Mane out of the clutches of Man United. Having set up the opener, he just pounced on an error from Ruddy and drove forward, although the Norwich keeper atoned to palm clear the Southampton winger's powerful strike. Then, moments later and from a similar angle, Ruddy is called into action once again by Rodriguez.

CHANCE! You get the feeling that a second Southampton goal is coming. Again Mane is heavily involved as he picks out Pelle on the edge of the Norwich area. His shot has Ruddy worried, but it flies just a couple of inches wide of the target.

CHANCE! It's a dangerous outswinging corner from Ward-Prowse, but Pelle can only send his headed effort from eight yards out flying over the crossbar. Again he wants a penalty following a tussle with Bassong, but the official waves away his appeal.

And that, you feel, is game over at the St Mary's Stadium. Norwich cannot clear Mane's low cross from the right and Tadic profits by steering his rising shot into the far corner of Ruddy's net. The finish will rightly be lauded, but Mane's role in that goal should also be appreciated. He's starting to cause plenty of problems for the Norwich rearguard.

That's two goals from Tadic in the space of three minutes and Norwich are sinking! Cedric's cross picks out Pelle, but Ruddy does ever so well to save his downward header. However, the Norwich keeper cannot hold the ball, which allows Tadic to poke in the rebound from virtually on the line. If the second goal hadn't sealed the three points, it's game over now.

NORWICH SUB: A second change for Norwich and it's Bradley Johnson that is coming on to replace Dorrans.

SOUTHAMPTON SUB: An alteration for the hosts at right-back as Cedric is replaced by fellow new signing Martina.

Norwich just want to get off the pitch now. Brady and Jerome have just exchanged verbals, with the former accusing the latter of not offering enough movement in the final third. It's not been a day to remember for the visitors and their supporters.

SOUTHAMPTON SUB: It's a Premier League debut for Juanmi as the summer signing from Malaga replaces Mane. The Senegalese winger receives a standing ovation from the home fans, who will be hoping that it isn't the last time that they see him in a Southampton shirt. If Louis van Gaal is keen, today's performance may have convinced the Man United boss to make another bid.

All the momentum has gone out of this game now. Southampton are continuing to attack with plenty of crosses going into the Norwich box, but Ruddy has been equal to all of them.

NORWICH SUB: A late third and final change for Norwich as lone striker Jerome is replaced by Gary Hooper.

There will be three minutes of stoppage time at the end of this contest.

So, there goes the final whistle, which tells us what we've known for some time - Southampton have beaten Norwich comfortably. It's a first victory of the campaign for the Saints, while Norwich will no doubt be ruing the first-half sending off of Whittaker. The Scot is likely to be an unpopular figure at Carrow Road for a couple of days, that's for sure!

And with that, we're ending our coverage from the St Mary's Stadium. Thanks for joining us this afternoon and be sure to keep an eye out for our match analysis, player ratings and reaction from this encounter. Until next time, goodbye.