SOUTHAMPTON v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 27th April 2013, 3pm
St Mary's Stadium

MATCH NOTES

Five of the last seven games between the sides have ended in draws.

A victory for Albion would see them set a new club record for most wins (14) during a Premier League season. The club's previous high of 13 was set in 2011/12.

The two sides have met once before on April 27, in 1929, when the Baggies beat the Saints 3-1 at The Hawthorns with goals from Jimmy Cookson, Tommy Glidden and Joe Carter. Herbert Coates hit the visitors' solitary reply.

Albion's last game on this date came in 1996 when they played out a 0-0 draw with Sunderland at Roker Park. The last time the Baggies won on this date was in 1972 when they beat Chelsea 4-0 at The Hawthorns thanks to goals from Tony Brown, Bobby Gould, Ally Brown and Len Cantello.

Southampton's last game on this date came in 2002 when they suffered a 2-1 defeat in a Premier League match away at Aston Villa.

Baggies' striker Romelu Lukaku needs two goals to equal Peter Odemwingie's club record of 15 Premier League goals in a season.

Albion's last six games: Newcastle United (H) 1-1; Arsenal (H) 1-2; West Ham United (A) 1-3; Stoke City (A) 0-0; Swansea City (H) 2-1; Chelsea (A) 0-1.

Southampton's last six games: Swansea City (A) 0-0; West Ham United (H) 1-1; Reading (A) 2-0; Chelsea (H) 2-1; Liverpool (H) 3-1; Norwich City (A) 0-0.

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Albion will be missing captain Chris Brunt for the St Mary’s clash after the midfielder picked up a knee injury in last weekend’s draw with Newcastle United. However, defender Billy Jones is fit to play despite suffering a gashed leg during the same game.

Peter Odemwingie is back in the squad after missing the last two games but Steve Clarke will again have to do without Youssouf Mulumbu as the midfielder completes his three-match ban.

Youngsters Izzy Brown and Kemar Roofe are both out injured whilst Zoltan Gera and George Thorne remain sidelined with long-term injuries.

Squad from: Foster, Myhill, Jones, Reid, Ridgewell, McAuley, Olsson, Thomas, Lukaku, Morrison, Dorrans, Rosenberg, Yacob, Long, Odemwingie, Fortune, Popov, Tamas, Daniels.

Southampton

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino has an almost fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of Saturday’s game.

Midfielder James Ward-Prowse, who suffered a knock in an under-21 game against Albion last Sunday is out but forward Guly do Prado returns to the squad after missing the trip to Swansea through illness.

Former Albion midfielder Richard Chaplow is missing due to an ankle injury suffered during his recent loan spell at Millwall.

Squad from: Boruc, K Davis, Clyne, Richardson, Fox, Shaw, Yoshida, Fonte, Forren, Hooiveld, Cork, Ramirez, Schneiderlin, S Davis, Lallana, Do Prado, Puncheon, Mayuka, Lambert, Rodriguez.

QUOTES

Baggies' boss Steve Clarke:

“We go to Southampton this weekend, which is a difficult place to go, as a number of teams have found this season, and we'll try and get another positive result for the club. Their form is good and they’ve had a number of notable scalps down there this season. We have to make sure we don’t join that list.

“As far as staying in the division, for me, they are safe. Earlier in the season Southampton were struggling to find their feet as Premier League players. They came up with Nigel [Adkins], they had some good performances but couldn’t quite get the results. I think as the season has gone on they have grown into the league. They have a number of really good players and those players have found their feet at this level, and the results have followed.

“It coincides with a change of manager - and the new guy has done well. You have to give him credit. He’s come into a new league that he probably didn’t know very well and has found a way of playing. They are certainly more aggressive on their forward pressing. They try to win the ball back really quickly.

“He’s found a good way of playing, he’s getting the best out of his players, and that’s all you can ask for as a manager or coach. They’ve found players who can express themselves at this level and so have we, so it should be an interesting game.”

www.wba.co.uk

Saints’ midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin:

"They beat us two-nil earlier in the season, and there was no dispute - they played a lot better than us that night. We had a nightmare, and I had a nightmare myself. It was a very low point. Everyone was very down at the end of the game - at that point of the season we had lost our spirit. It was very hard to take that night, but we’ve bounced back.

"We owe them one because we want to show them that we’ve come a long way. We’ve worked very hard to be at the level we’re at now. We want to beat West Brom because maybe it will assure us of our place in the Premier League next year. If we play at 100% and with the fans behind us, I am sure there will be no problem."

www.saintsfc.co.uk

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 7/2, Southampton Win: 17/20, Draw: 23/10.

First Goalscorer

Albion: Lukaku 7/1, Long 8/1, Odemwingie 10/1, Fortune 12/1, Rosenberg 12/1, Morrison 14/1, Dorrans 16/1, Thomas 20/1.

Southampton: Lambert 9/2, Rodriguez 9/2, Ramirez 13/2, Lallana 7/1, Mayuka 15/2, Do Prado 8/1, Puncheon 8/1, Davis 14/1, Schneiderlin 16/1.

REFEREE

Bobby Madley (West Yorkshire)

The game sees the official take charge of his first ever Premier League match.

It is also the first time the Yorkshireman will have refereed either an Albion or Southampton game.

TICKET INFORMATION

Albion's allocation of 3,000 tickets is completely sold out.

WEATHER FORECAST

Cloudy with a 40% chance of rain, 10°C.

FIXTURE HISTORY

Albion have a particularly poor record against the Saints away from home, winning just three times in 34 league and cup games. Their last win at Southampton came in August 1969 when two goals from Colin Suggett clinched the Baggies a 2-0 win.
 

LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT ST MARY'S STADIUM

Southampton 3-2 Albion
Coca-Cola League Championship
Saturday 6th October 2007, 3:00pm

Southampton: Davis, Ifil, Thomas, Dailly, Skacel, Dyer, Safri,Viafara, Idiakez (Surman 83), Saganowski (Euell 90), John. Subs not used: Bialkowski, Ostlund, Hammill.

Goalscorers: John 17 & 64, Skacel 23

Booked: Dyer 90 (unsporting behaviour)

Albion: Kiely, Hoefkens, Barnett, Albrechtsen, Robinson,Gera (Beattie 74), Greening, Koren, Brunt (Morrison 74),Filipe Teixeira (MacDonald 46), Miller. Subs not used: Daniels, Pele.

Goalscorers: Koren 32 & 62

Booked: Greening 69 (unsporting behaviour), Robinson 82 (unsporting behaviour)

Attendance: 21,967

Referee: Pat Miller (Bedfordshire)

Stern John bagged his first goals for Southampton as George Burley's men brought an end to West Brom's six-game unbeaten run and rescued a game they looked to have thrown away. John opened the scoring and then struck the winner as Saints made a mockery of their league position just two points above the drop zone. Rudi Skacel put the hosts two up but a brace from midfielder Robert Koren either side of half-time gave West Brom hope of snatching the points.

Southampton are the most unpredictable team in the Coca-Cola Championship, following their 5-1 mauling by struggling Preston with a 2-1 win away at Sheffield United. But they started like they had a point to prove in front of their home fans and were two goals up inside 23 minutes. Inigo Idiakez had looked to test out West Brom goalkeeper Dean Kiely early on, but his drive from 30 yards flew past the left post. But the Spaniard was involved again when Southampton took the lead after 17 minutes. His pass picked out Stern John on the edge of the area and the Trinidad and Tobago striker fired into the bottom corner. Skacel doubled the lead just six minutes later when he converted Nathan Dyer's pass with a low drive. West Brom gave themselves hope in the 32nd minute when Slovenia international Koren slotted home from close range after Chris Brunt's cross from the left. The diminutive Dyer almost restored Southampton's two-goal lead five minutes before the break but his 25-yard shot came back off the bar.

Saints began the second half as they had the first and Kiely did well to keep out two Marek Saganowski headers within three minutes of the restart, while Idiakez and the lively Dyer both flashed efforts wide. Kelvin Davis was called into action at the other end to keep the home side in front when he tipped Ishmael Miller's fierce shot round a post. And the on-loan Manchester City youngster was involved as the Baggies got back on level terms after 62 minutes, heading the ball on for Koren to fire home his second of the game from inside the area. But West Brom were level for barely two minutes, John slotting home from close range after the visitors' defence had failed to clear Idiakez's corner to restore Saints' lead. Saganowski should have given the hosts another two-goal cushion when he headed over from Philip Ifil's free-kick, but the miss did not prove decisive as Saints held on for a thrilling win.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Richard Chaplow spent three years at The Hawthorns after joining Albion from Burnley in January 2005. He struggled to pin down a first team place during his time with the Baggies and moved onto Preston North End in January 2008. He would spend three years at Deepdale before joining Southampton, initially on loan. The Accrington born midfielder also spent three months on loan at the Saints in early 2006 whilst an Albion player.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Jack Bowden, Tommy Broad, Harry Brown, David Burnside, Mickey Evans, Sammy Farrington, Ricardo Fuller, Bruce Grobbelaar, Harry Hadley, Ian Hamilton, Ivan Katalinic, Billy Light, Graham Lovett, Mike McCartney, Roddy McLeod, Nigel Quashie, Carlton Palmer, Pedro Pele, Chris Perry, Graham Potter, John Reynolds, Uwe Rosler, Terry Simpson, David Speedie, Derek Statham, Andy Townsend and Stuart Williams.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS SOUTHAMPTON