Preview: Southampton vs. West Bromwich Albion - prediction, team news, lineups

Southampton welcome West Bromwich Albion to St Mary's on Sunday afternoon looking to build on their narrow victory at Burnley last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Baggies travel to the South Coast as one of four clubs who are still looking for their first win in the Premier League this season.

Match preview

On the back of three successive defeats, Ralph Hasenhuttl would have had concerns about the development of a squad which appeared to be heading in the right direction at the end of last season.

However, a no-thrills win over Burnley last weekend has eased the pressure on the Austrian, who will be aiming for a top-10 finish this season after ending last term in 11th place.

The Saints need to improve their return in the final third, netting just three times from four matches in all competitions, but Hasenhuttl will be encouraged that Danny Ings has scored in his last two outings.

Although he will not want to rely on the England international, Hasenhuttl knows that the prospects of his team will improve dramatically if the 28-year-old is firing on all cylinders.

Opponents West Brom are having few problems in finding the back of the net, registering 10 strikes in their last four matches.

Nevertheless, their performances at the other end of the pitch are undermining their progress, with the same amount of goals being conceded during the same fixtures.

Slaven Bilic would have been left optimistic about the development of his team after they showed a ruthless streak in opening up a 3-0 half-time lead against Chelsea.

That said, failing to record all three points from that position leaves question marks over his approach for the next four games, all of which come against opponents whom they will regard as direct rivals.

Southampton Premier League form: LLW Southampton form (all competitions): LLLW

West Bromwich Albion Premier League form: LLD West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions): LWLDD

Team News

Having taken the positives from the draw with Chelsea, Bilic could opt against making any changes to his Baggies starting lineup.

However, Conor Gallagher is available after missing the game against his parent club, while Filip Krovinovic is back at The Hawthorns after his loan spell last season.

Nathan Redmond is likely to remain absent for Southampton as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.

With Mohammed Salisu also out of contention, Hasenhuttl could stick with the team which started the win at Turf Moor.

Southampton possible starting lineup: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Djenepo; Ings, Adams

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup: Johnstone; Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, O'Shea, Townsend; Pereira, Sawyers, Livermore, Diangana; Robinson

We say: Southampton 2-1 West Bromwich Albion

West Brom showed against Chelsea that they are beginning to adapt to life back in the Premier League. However, it remains to be seen how they will react to letting slip such a wide advantage, leading us to predict a narrow victory for the Saints this weekend.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data