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Preview: Southampton vs. West Bromwich Albion

Sports Mole previews the clash between Southampton and West Brom at St Mary's Stadium, where both of the club's managers will go seeking a first Premier League win.

Two managers seeking their first Premier League wins go head to head on Saturday as Southampton host West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's Stadium.

Ronald Koeman's first game in English football ended in defeat as the Saints held their own for long stages before losing 2-1 to a Liverpool side who are largely responsible for their summer exodus.

The South Coast club has again promised that Morgan Schneiderlin will not be following a quintet of other high-profile players out of the door, despite former boss Mauricio Pochettino retaining an interest in bringing him to Tottenham Hotspur.

Replacing former captain Adam Lallana remains a major priority for Koeman, but their £10m bid for England international winger Andros Townsend has this week been rebuffed by Spurs.

Alan Irvine did claim a point from his maiden outing as Baggies boss, although he may have been disappointed not to secure three after conceding late in the 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

Saido Berahino is the early leader of the Premier League scoring charts having netted twice at The Hawthorns and he could have a new partner in attack this weekend.

Both Stephane Sessegnon and club-record signing Brown Ideye are nearing full fitness and are pushing to displace Victor Anichebe as the leader of the Albion front line.

Irvine will be keen to slot free agent signing Joleon Lescott into his defence, but the former England international, along with Gareth McAuley, is an injury doubt and therefore Craig Dawson may continue.

Costa Rica's World Cup star Cristian Gamboa has only recently linked up with the West Midlands club and may not feature, while James Morrison will also be absent from what should be an unchanged midfield.

A Saints debut for Romanian centre-back Florin Gardos, who joined from Steaua Bucuresti last week, is still a fortnight away, while Jay Rodriguez is likely to be sidelined until at least Christmas.

With his options limited, Koeman could name the same XI that he did against Liverpool, although £12m striker Shane Long could be handed a start against the team that sold him to Hull City six months ago.

Southampton won both of their fixtures against Albion last season by a 1-0 scoreline.

Recent form

Southampton: L

West Brom: D

Possible starting lineups

Southampton: Forster; Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Betrand; Wanyama, Schneiderlin, Davis; Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Long

West Brom: Foster; Wisdom, Dawson, Olsson, Pocognoli; Dorrans, Gardner, Mulumbu, Brunt; Sessegnon, Berahino

Sports Mole says: 2-1


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Gustavo Poyet the Sunderland manager celebrates his team's 1-0 victory during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford on May 3, 2014
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeicester CityLeicester463141189414897
3Leeds UnitedLeeds462791081433890
4Southampton462691187632487
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4621121370472375
6Norwich CityNorwich4621101579641573
7Hull City461913146860870
8Middlesbrough46209177162969
9Coventry CityCoventry4617131670591164
10Preston North EndPreston46189195667-1163
11Bristol City461711185351262
12Cardiff CityCardiff46195225370-1762
13Millwall461611194555-1059
14Swansea CitySwansea461512195965-657
15Watford461317166161056
16Sunderland46168225254-256
17Stoke CityStoke461511204960-1156
18Queens Park RangersQPR461511204758-1156
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn461411216074-1453
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds46158234468-2453
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth461312215970-1151
RBirmingham CityBirmingham461311225065-1550
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield46918194877-2945
RRotherham UnitedRotherham46512293789-5227


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