Southampton v Crystal Palace preview: Team news, head-to-head, stats and prediction

TEAM NEWS

Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia will be assessed after he was forced off in the defeat against Manchester City with a tight hamstring.

Mislav Orsic is unavailable due to injury, while Juan Larios, Mohammed Salisu and Che Adams remain out.

Crystal Palace winger Odsonne Edouard has recovered from an ankle injury sustained in the win at Leeds United.

Nathaniel Clyne, Wilfried Zaha, Vicente Guaita and Nathan Ferguson have all been ruled out.

CHRIS SUTTON'S PREDICTION

This is quite a tricky one to call, because it is a must-win game for Southampton - they are that stage now where they are getting desperate.

Crystal Palace, in contrast, have turned a corner with two wins out of two under Roy Hodgson and have put a bit of distance between themselves and the bottom three.

I'm not taking anything away from Roy, who I think is a brilliant coach and has made an instant impact, but I suspect they would have been absolutely fine if Patrick Vieira had remained in charge.

I was mocked for my relegation 'worryometer' when I spoke about it on 5 live, but I was never really concerned about Palace going down, just because they were about to start this run of playing all the teams below them.

They beat Leicester late on and ended up running away with things in the second half against Leeds last week. That was a very strange game because Leeds had started it so well and Palace normally don't score five goals in a month - but they managed that in just over 45 minutes at Elland Road.

Three wins out of three would be an absolute dream start for Roy but because Saints are so desperate for a victory I can see this one ending up in a draw. It could get a bit nervy at St Mary's Stadium towards the end because Southampton really cannot afford to lose this one.

Prediction: 1-1

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Southampton are winless in their last three Premier League games against Crystal Palace, since a 3-1 victory in May 2021.
• Palace have never kept a clean sheet in 22 top-flight away games against Southampton.
• The Eagles can win both league meetings in a single campaign for only the third time, after 1922-23 in the second tier and 1990-91 in the top flight.

Southampton

• Southampton have 23 points after 30 matches. Three teams have had 23 or fewer points at this stage of a Premier League season and gone on to avoid relegation: Leicester City (22 in 2014-15), West Ham United (23 in 2006-07) and Roy Hodgson's Fulham (23 in 2007-08).
• Their tally of 19 defeats equals the club Premier League record for a 38-game season.
• Southampton amassed 12 points in 14 games under Ralph Hasenhuttl in contrast to 11 in 16 matches since he was sacked.
• They are winless in five Premier League fixtures, after triumphing in two of their first three matches under Ruben Selles.
• Southampton can equal the club league record of 10 home defeats in a single campaign, last set in 2019-20.
• They have conceded four or more goals in a league-high four matches this season.

Crystal Palace

• Crystal Palace have won both Premier League matches since Roy Hodgson returned as manager. They were on a 13-game winless run in all competitions prior to his appointment.
• Hodgson has already recorded as many Premier League victories back at Palace as he did in all 18 matches as Watford manager last season.
• Palace can win three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since a run of four from February to June 2020 in Hodgson's first spell as manager.
• They have won a league-high 20 points from losing positions, only ever recovering more in a Premier League campaign in 2014-15 (21).
• Jordan Ayew has scored two goals and provided one assist under Hodgson this season, having contributed just one goal and one assist under Patrick Vieira.
• Michael Olise has provided eight assists this season, just one short of the club Premier League record held by Wayne Routledge (2004-05) and Wilfried Zaha (2016-17).

Predict Southampton's starting XI for their next fixture - remember you can change the formation!

Predict Crystal Palace's starting XI for their next fixture - remember you can change the formation!