southampton1819@ZAPunter takes a look at the English Premier League match between Brighton and Southampton which takes place on Saturday 24th August

 

 

 

 

BRIGHTON VS SOUTHAMPTON, SATURDAY @ 16:00:

 

Saturday’s Premier League clash on the south coast between Brighton and Southampton sees Graham Potter take charge of his second home game for the Seagulls. Potter will be hoping for all 3 points, to extend their positive start against a Southampton team that are without a point after their first 2 matches. Brighton has surprised a few people with a new style of attacking football and Premier League teams will be excited by this team. Even though Southampton haven’t registered a single point, their performances have been positive, especially against a far more superior team like Liverpool. This may not be either teams biggest rival, but bragging rights on the south coast will be important for both sets of fans.

 

BRIGHTON:

 

The Seagulls decision to sack former boss Chris Houghton came as a shock for Premier League fans, as they were consistent and competitive in the Premier League. New boss Potter had a lot of pressure on him, especially never managing in the league before. Potter brought the formation he used at Swansea (3-4-2-1) and encourages his team to play good football. After an excellent start to the season, the Seagulls will aim to get all 3 points on Saturday. Brighton’s xGf is 1.74 and xGa 0.79, shows really how great their start to the season has been. Their ability to maintain possession has been excellent and opposition teams have struggled to break them down.

 

SOUTHAMPTON:

 

Ralph Hasenhuttl did a good job replacing Mark Hughes at the end of last season and secured Southampton’s safety. The Saints were very unlucky vs Burnley after they dominated most of the match and then conceded 3 goals within 5 minutes. Southampton did not sit back vs Liverpool and created numerous chances, at the end Liverpool’s quality was the difference, but there is no reason to panic just yet for Southampton fans. Their expected goals statistics are really fascinating with xGf 1.92 and xGa 1.24, with that being based on their two defeats Southampton fans will feel hard done by and excited. The expectation is that Southampton will get a result sooner rather than later.

 

PROBABLE LINE-UPS AND TEAM NEWS:

 

Brighton: 3-4-2-1

Ryan,

Duffy, Dunk, Burn,

Montoya, Propper, Stephens, March,

Gross, Trossard,

Murray.

*Injuries: Izquierdo, Bissouma and Schelotto.

 

Southampton: 3-4-1-2

Gunn,

Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard,

Valery, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Bertrand,

Redmond,

Ings, Adams.

*McCarthy could possible return, McQueen still injured.

 

PREDICTION:

 

This may not be the public opinion or in agreement with the market, but I expect goals in this encounter. Brighton has been excellent going forward and Southampton equally, but the latter has just been unlucky. Expected goals based on the first two fixtures indicates both teams attacking abilities. Both teams will believe this game is winnable and a crucial result for their season. I expect a high tempo game with lots of chances at both ends, we just need both teams to take 1.

 

BETTING:

 

Both teams to score – 1.83 @BetOlimp

 

Current Premier League Record: Week 1 – Week 2

Overall Record: 4-4 (-0.59 Units)

Best Bet Record: 2-0 (+2.19 Units)

Last Week: 3-1 (+0.97 Units)

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change

 

@ZAPunter