SOUTHAMPTON v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 23rd August 2014, 3pm
St Mary's Stadium

After opening the season last weekend with a draw and pretty decent performance against Sunderland, Alan Irvine will take his team to the South Coast on Saturday to take on a Southampton side seeking their first points of 2014/15.

With it fair to say the majority of Albion fans were dreading this season, they will have been pleasantly surprised with what they saw against the Black Cats. Whilst it was a far from perfect performance by Irvine’s men, it was good enough to suggest that perhaps things won’t be as bad as many feared. Yes the defensive frailties were still there for all to see but generally it was a well organised and hardworking performance that on another day would have seen us pick up all three points. That we put in such a pleasing performance without the likes of Ideye, Lescott, McAuley, Morrison and Gamboa surely bodes well for the season ahead.

The two stars of last Saturday’s game in many people’s eyes were Saido Berahino and Sebastien Pocognoli. Berahino, who looks fitter and leaner than last season, took most of the headlines thanks to his two goals and general play but for many people Belgian newcomer Pocognoli was the real star of the show. Not only did the 27 year old look defensively solid but his attacking play was also pretty impressive, the left-back sending in a number of inviting crosses that definitely deserved better.

Southampton, very much like Albion, endured a summer of upheaval and fans’ discontent, losing first their highly rated manager Mauricio Pochettino and then a number of their better players, amongst them England internationals Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana. The Saints and new boss Ronald Koeman have been busy rebuilding their squad and have made some interesting signings, the one most recognisable to Baggies’ fans of course being Shane Long. Whilst eyes were raised at the £6million fee Albion received from Hull for the Irish striker back in January, the £12million fee that was reported following his move to the South Coast was met with a certain amount of disbelief throughout the football world. Aside from Long the Saints have ‘splashed the cash’ on the highly rated Serbian playmaker Dusan Tadic, Italian striker Graziano Pelle and England’s current third choice keeper Fraser Forster.

With many people expecting both Albion and Southampton to struggle this season, both teams’ performances last weekend offered hope for the future. Despite the Saints suffering a 2-1 loss at Liverpool, the general consensus was that they deserved at least a point from the Anfield clash. The Baggies will be hoping that with most of the pressure on Southampton this week, they can take advantage and return home with all three points. To do so the visitors will have to do something they have yet to do in the Premier League - win an away game in August. Thirteen attempts have failed to see Albion win even once, drawing five of the games and losing eight. They will also have to overcome one of their bogey sides, the Baggies having won just four times out of 36 visits to St Mary’s and prior to that The Dell.

Whilst it’s going to be tough for Irvine’s men to return home with all three points it’s definitely a winnable game although having said that, a point would probably be welcomed by most.

ATWD Prediction: 1-1

MATCH NOTES

The game will be the 71st league and cup meeting of the two sides. Southampton currently have the edge in terms of victories with 26 compared to Albion's 22.

Albion's last game on this date took place in 2011 when they won 4-1 away at Bournemouth in the second round of the Carling Cup. The Baggies' last league game on August 23 came in 2008 when Tony Mowbray's men suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Everton.

The Saints' last game on this date came in 2008 when they won 1-0 at Derby County in a League Championship clash.

Albion have won just four times in 36 league and cup visits to Southampton.

The Baggies have won only five of their last 34 league and cup games, a run stretching back to October 2013.

Albion have previously played 13 away Premier League games during the month of August and have failed to win any of them, drawing five and losing eight.

Albion's last six games: Sunderland (H) 2-2; FC Porto (H, Fr) 1-3; Port Vale (A, Fr) 2-3; Nottingham Forest (A, Fr) 0-1; Sacramento Republic (A, Fr) 3-1; Sacramento Republic (A, Fr) 1-0.

Saints' last six games: Liverpool (A) 1-2; Bayer Leverkusen (H) 0-1; Brighton & Hove Albion (A) 3-1; AFC Bournemouth (A) 1-0; Swindon Town (A) 1-0; Sporting Hasselt (A) 6-0

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Record signing Ideye Brown and defender Gareth McAuley both played 90 minutes in the club’s under-21 victory over Wolves on Monday and both look likely to figure on Saturday at St Mary's.

Joleon Lescott has returned to training following his knee injury but is unlikely to be risked whilst Costa Rican international Cristian Gamboa has finally received clearance to play following a lengthy work permit and visa wait but misses out due to a lack of match fitness.

Southampton

Jay Rodriguez remains sidelined due to his long-term knee injury with Saints' boss Ronald Koeman looking likely to stick with the same line-up that featured against Liverpool last weekend. Former Albion striker Shane Long looks set to start on the bench again.

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 3/1, Southampton Win: 10/11, Draw: 5/2.

First Goalscorer

Albion: Ideye 15/2, Berahino 8/1, Anichebe 9/1, Sessegnon 11/1, Gardner 12/1, Morrison 16/1, Dorrans 16/1, Brunt 16/1, Mulumbu 25/1, Dawson 25/1, Yacob 33/1, Lescott 33/1, Pocognoli 33/1, Baird 33/1, McAuley 33/1.

Southampton: Long 9/2, Pelle 11/2, Mayuka 13/2, Tadic 7/1, Gallagher 7/1, Ramirez 9/1, Taider 10/1, Davis 12/1, Schneiderlin 14/1, Isgrove 14/1, Ward-Prowse 14/1, Wanyama 20/1, Reed 25/1, Bertrand 33/1, Clyne 33/1, Fonte 33/1, Hooiveld 33/1, Cork 33/1.

REFEREE

Roger East (Wiltshire)

East refereed just one Albion game last season - the 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison Park in August.

The Wiltshire official last took charge of a Southampton game back in January 2012 - the Saints' 1-1 draw at Millwall in the 4th round of the FA Cup.

East issued 101 yellow cards and two reds in the 29 games he officiated last season.

A full run-down of East's history refereeing the Baggies can be found here

TICKET INFORMATION

Seats are currently on general sale priced £34 adults, £30 under 21s and over 65s, £21 under 17s, and £12 under 11s. They will remain on sale at The Hawthorns' ticket office until 2pm on Friday. Tickets can also be purchased at St Mary's Stadium on the day of the game from Ticket Office 3 but will cost £2 more.

WEATHER FORECAST

Sunny intervals, 17°C.

FIXTURE HISTORY

Saturday 27 April 2013 - Southampton 0-3 Albion - Premier League - St Mary's Stadium
Monday 28 April 2008 - Albion 1-1 Southampton - League Championship - The Hawthorns
Saturday 21 February 1981 - Southampton 2-2 Albion - First Division - The Dell
Saturday 27 September 1980 - Albion 2-1 Southampton - First Division - The Hawthorns

LAST MEETING AT ST MARY'S STADIUM

Southampton 1-0 Albion
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 11th January  2014, 3:00pm

Southampton: Boruc; Clyne, Fonte, Lovren, Shaw; Cork (Ramirez 62); Davis, Scheneiderlin; Lallana (Ward-Prowse 84), Lambert, Rodriguez (Do Prado 90+1). Subs not used: K Davis (gk), Yoshida, Hooiveld, Gallagher.

Goalscorer: Lallana 66

Booked: Lovren 27 (foul)

Albion: Foster; Reid, McAuley (Gera 80), Olsson, Ridgewell; Amalfitano (Vydra 86), Morrison, Mulumbu, Brunt; Anelka (Berahino 77); Long. Subs not used: Myhill (gk), Lugano, Sinclair, Yacob.

Booked: Long 58 (foul), Olsson 73 (foul)

Attendance: 28,610 (1,621 Albion fans)

Referee: Howard Webb (South Yorkshire)

West Brom head coach Pepe Mel watched his new side's four-match unbeaten streak in the Barclays Premier League end with a 1-0 defeat at Southampton. After 26 days of waiting, the man that led Real Betis to seventh in last season's Primera Division was named Steve Clarke's successor on Thursday. Mel watched from the stands at St Mary's on Saturday afternoon as assistant head coach Keith Downing took charge of the team for the last time - a match that saw his unbeaten league run as caretaker boss ended via a goal from Adam Lallana.

Mauricio Pochettino's side deserved what was only their second league win in 10 attempts, despite failing to turn their first-half dominance into clear-cut chances. West Brom's defence, led by the impressive Gareth McAuley, frustrated the hosts and it took Gaston Ramirez's second-half introduction to change the match. The Uruguay international was sent off as the Baggies won 3-0 at St Mary's in April, but had a more positive impact this time as his superb flick resulted in Lallana prodding past Ben Foster. West Brom attacked in numbers as they looked to snatch a draw, with only an exquisite reaction save from Artur Boruc preventing Shane Long netting a last-gasp equaliser. The point-blank stop showed just why the Poland goalkeeper was brought straight back into Pochettino's side after missing six weeks with a fractured hand.

Saints began the brighter at St Mary's, with Lallana forcing Foster into the first save of the afternoon, albeit an easy one, after eight minutes. The Saints captain was soon involved again as his chipped cross deflected kindly into the path of fellow England international Rickie Lambert, who, despite being off-balance, came close with left-footed strike across the face of goal. Steven Davis and Jack Cork had poor efforts from distance as Saints continued in the ascendancy, although without turning their dominance into clear-cut chances. Any crosses were being well dealt with by the West Brom defence, most notably a whipped Luke Shaw ball that McAuley intercepted as Jay Rodriguez waited to put home. Steven Reid had West Brom's first opportunity of the afternoon after 27 minutes, with his powerful long-range free-kick flying over. The Baggies soon had another set-piece after Dejan Lovren was booked for taking down Long, with the Ireland international receiving treatment as the resulting free-kick was punched away by Boruc. It was a rare period of respite for the visitors as Saints penned them back for the remainder of the first half. After Foster comfortably dealt with a long-range Lambert strike, the 31-year-old's cross was flicked behind by McAuley as Rodriguez lurked at the backpost before both saw wayward long-range efforts fly over.

The half-time break was a welcome relief to the 28,610 souls inside St Mary's, although Saints came close to breaking the deadlock six minutes after the restart. The returning Youssouf Mulumbu was caught out by Rodriguez, who burst through the middle at pace and slotted just wide. Reid blocked a Davis effort moments later as Saints pushed for an opener, with McAuley blocking a Lambert strike as the hosts continued to press. Ramirez was brought on in a bid to add a creative spark, with his first impact to earn a free-kick from which he tested Foster. The Uruguay international had a more telling impact in the 66th minute, meeting a pass from Nathaniel Clyne with a delightful first-time flick for Lallana to slot past Foster. The Saints captain celebrated by showing a T-shirt wishing happy birthday to his mum, who will have no doubt winced when Jonas Olsson earned a booking for clattering her son. The West Brom defender joined team-mate Long in Howard Webb's notebook, with the latter joined in attack by Saido Berahino for the closing stages. Zoltan Gera and Matej Vydra followed the England Under-21 international on to the field as Downing looked to maintain his unbeaten league run. West Brom would have done just that was it not for Boruc, whose point-blank reaction save stopped Long directing home Liam Ridgewell's low cross.

 Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Baggies' defender Chris Baird started his career with Southampton and spent six years on the south coast before leaving for Fulham in 2007. Short spells at Reading and Burnley followed before he moved to The Hawthorns in July 2014.

Southampton's recent signing Shane Long spent almost two and a half years at The Hawthorns after joining from Reading in August 2011. The Irish striker left the Baggies in January of this year joining Hull City but spent just six months with the Tigers before joining the Saints earlier this month in a reported £12million deal.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: James Bowden, Tommy Broad, Harry Brown, David Burnside, Richard Chaplow, 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