Both Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion will be bidding to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they lock horns at St Mary's on Monday afternoon.
The Saints suffered a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in their last league match on November 12, while Brighton were beaten 2-1 at home by Aston Villa in their final fixture before the campaign was halted for the World Cup.
Match preview
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Nathan Jones enjoyed his first victory as Southampton head coach in the EFL Cup last week, with the Saints recording a 2-1 win over Lincoln City to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.
Southampton have lost each of their last three in the Premier League, though, including a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in their last game before the break for the World Cup.
The Saints currently sit 19th in the Premier League table, having picked up just 12 points from their opening 15 matches of the 2022-23 campaign, but they are only two points behind 17th-placed Everton.
Jones would have been aware of the size of the job that he was taking on, but he will believe that there is more than enough quality in the squad to gradually move clear of the bottom three in the coming weeks.
Southampton have not beaten Brighton since December 2020, although both matches between the two sides during the 2021-22 Premier League season finished level, including a 1-1 draw at St Mary's.
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Brighton, meanwhile, suffered a surprise defeat to Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, losing on penalties to the League One outfit following a 0-0 draw.
The Seagulls also lost their last Premier League game at home to Aston Villa, but a successful start to the season has left them in seventh position in the table, boasting 21 points from their opening 14 matches.
Brighton are actually above Chelsea in the table and just one point behind Liverpool, while they have scored 23 times in England's top flight during the 2022-23 campaign.
Since Roberto De Zerbi's arrival as head coach, the team have won three, drawn three and lost four of their 10 matches, and it was always going to be difficult for the Italian to follow Graham Potter.
Brighton have some tough games to come in England's top flight, with two of their next three matches against Arsenal and Liverpool, which adds to the importance of the fixture with the struggling Saints.
Team News
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Southampton will again be without the services of Tino Livramento and Juan Larios through injury, while Theo Walcott is a doubt with the problem that forced him off the field against Lincoln last time out.
Romeo Lavia also faces a late fitness test on a thigh problem.
Che Adams scored twice against Lincoln and is again expected to lead the line on Monday, while Adam Armstrong could also retain his spot in the final third of the field for the hosts.
As for Brighton, World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister is missing following his involvement in last weekend's final between Argentina and France.
Danny Welbeck, Jakub Moder and Adam Webster are also missing through injury, but the team did not pick up any fresh issues against Charlton last time out.
There will be changes from the EFL Cup fixture, with Leandro Trossard, Pervis Estupinan and Kaoru Mitoma expected to come back into the side for the Premier League contest with Southampton.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Bella-Kotchap, Lyanco, Salisu; Walker-Peters, Ward-Prowse, Maitland-Niles, Elyounoussi, Perraud; A Armstrong, Adams
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Gross, Dunk, Colwill, Estupinan; Gilmour, Caicedo; March, Lallana, Mitoma; Trossard
We say: Southampton 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Both managers will be wary of losing this match, which could make it a nervy affair. It would not be a surprise to see a home or an away win here, but we just have a feeling that a low-scoring draw will be played out at St Mary's.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
