Premier League | Gameweek 25

Feb 15, 2025 at 3pm UK

St. Mary's Stadium

Southampton vs Bournemouth

Match preview

After ending a 13-match winless run in the Premier League with a 2-1 win at fellow strugglers Ipswich Town a fortnight ago, Southampton suffered a frustrating 1-0 defeat at home to Championship promotion hopefuls Burnley in the fourth round of the FA Cup last weekend.

Ultimately, Southampton lacked an edge in the final third against the statistically strongest defence in Europe, and Marcus Edwards scored the match-winner 13 minutes from time to send the Saints out at the fourth round for the first time since 2019-20.

An early exit from the FA Cup may be seen as a blessing in disguise by some Southampton fans, as it will allow Ivan Juric and co to concentrate fully on their attempts to avoid relegation and pull off one of the greatest escapes in Premier League history, with the club currently bottom of the table and 10 points adrift of safety with 14 games remaining.

It is fair to say that Southampton fans have had little to smile about this season, especially on home soil, as the Saints have taken just four points from a possible 33 at St Mary's (W1 D1 L9), scoring the fewest goals (eight) and conceding the most (30).

Juric's men, who will be looking to avoid a seventh successive home league defeat, have lost their last two PL meetings with Saturday's opponents Bournemouth, the same number of defeats they have suffered in their first 11 league meetings with the Cherries (W5 D4).

Bournemouth are in a strong position to qualify for Europe for the first time in their history, despite losing 2-0 at home to Premier League leaders Liverpool two weeks ago - their only defeat in their last 14 games in all competitions (W9 D4).

The Cherries bounced back with a 2-0 win over Everton in the fourth round of the FA Cup on the blue side of Merseyside last weekend, with goals from Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison setting up a fifth round tie with Wolves next month.

January's Premier League Manager of the Month, Andoni Iraola, will now focus on guiding Bournemouth through a relatively favourable run of top-flight fixtures against Southampton, Wolves, Brighton, Tottenham, Brentford, Ipswich and West Ham as they look to move up from seventh and close the three-point gap on the top four.

Bournemouth go into Saturday's clash having lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games against teams who started the day in the bottom three, winning all three of them this season, and are currently on their longest ever unbeaten run away from home in the division (six games - four wins, two draws).

Having beaten Southampton 3-1 in the reverse fixture five months ago, the Cherries will be looking to complete a first ever league double over the Saints in the 15th meeting between the two sides.

Recent Performance

Southampton Premier League form:LLLLLW

Southampton form (all competitions):WLLLWL

Bournemouth Premier League form:DWDWWL

Bournemouth form (all competitions):WDWWLW

Team News

Southampton are without Taylor Harwood-Bellis (ankle), Jack Stephens (calf), Ross Stewart (calf), Juan Larios and Ryan Fraser (both unspecified) through injury, while Adam Lallana (hamstring) and Flynn Downes (knock) are both doubtful and will be assessed before kick-off.

Nathan Wood has recently recovered from injury and could start in a back three alongside Jan Bednarek and James Bree, while Kyle Walker-Peters, Ryan Manning, Welington and Yukinari Sugawara are all in contention to start at full-back.

Aaron Ramsdale is expected to replace Alex McCarthy in goal, while Joe Aribo and Paul Onuachu both scored against Ipswich a fortnight ago and could start again in midfield and attack respectively.

For Bournemouth, Evanilson (foot), Enes Unal (ACL), James Hill, Marcos Senesi, Julian Araujo (all hamstring), Adam Smith (muscle) and Julio Soler (international duty) remain unavailable, while Alex Scott (knee) and Luis Sinisterra (hamstring) have "a chance" of returning, according to Iraola, but will be assessed before kick-off.

A back four of Lewis Cook - still operating as a makeshift right-back - Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez is expected to protect goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, while Tyler Adams and Ryan Christie continue to link up in midfield.

Semenyo and Dango Ouattara both scored in the reverse fixture against Southampton and are expected to link up in attack with David Brooks and Justin Kluivert, the latter of whom has five goals and two assists in his last four Premier League appearances.

Possible starting lineup

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Ramsdale; Bree, Bednarek, Wood; Walker-Peters, Aribo, Ugochukwu, Welington; Fernandes, Dibling; Onuachu

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Kepa; Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Christie, Adams; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Ouattara