Premier League | Gameweek 29

Mar 15, 2025 at 3pm UK

St. Mary's Stadium

Southampton vs Wolves

Match preview

The shock of the almighty shocks was briefly on the cards at Anfield last weekend, as Saints midfielder Will Smallbone broke the deadlock in a comedy of errors for the Reds in a top-of-the-table clash between runaway leaders Liverpool and struggling Southampton.

Juric's men deserved their half-time advantage after Arne Slot's side struggled to get going in the opening exchanges, but the reigning champions inevitably turned the tide in the second period as Darwin Nunez's equaliser preceded a Mohamed Salah double from the spot.

As spirited as Southampton were at Anfield, spirit will not translate into points for the South Coast outfit, who now sit 14 points adrift of safety at the foot of the Premier League table and remain on course for their worst ever campaign.

Unless Saints can pick up a win or at least two draws between now and the end of the season, they will equal Derby County's unwanted low of 11 points in 2007-08, and the less said about their exploits at St Mary's the better.

Indeed, Juric's men have lost each of their last eight Premier League home games and could now become just the fourth side in the history of the English top flight to lose nine in a row - coincidentally, Wolves are one of three teams to have suffered that fate in 2011-12.

Unsurprisingly, the Old Gold finished bottom of the table that season and 13 years on, the West Midlands outfit are still in danger of being relegated to the second tier after only managing a share of the spoils with Everton last weekend.

Jack Harrison's opener just after the half-hour mark was followed by a swift response from Marshall Munetsi, whose first Premier League goal ended Wolves' two-game losing streak in all competitions, following defeats at Fulham and a heartbreaking FA Cup exit at Bournemouth.

A first draw of the calendar year leaves Vitor Pereira's men safe in 17th place for the time being, although Ipswich Town and Leicester City are only six points worse off, meaning a few more unlucky results for Wolves could send them below the dreaded dotted line.

However, with or without the mercurial Matheus Cunha in attack, the visitors can usually be counted on to bang the nets, having scored at least once in each of their last seven games in all competitions and nine of their last 10 away from home.

With former bosses Russell Martin and Gary O'Neil in the dugout, Wolves beat Southampton 2-0 in November to make it six Premier League wins in a row against the Saints, their longest such run against a single team in the competition.

Recent Performance

Southampton Premier League form:LWLLLL

Southampton form (all competitions):WLLLLL

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:LWLWLD

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):WLWLLD

Team News

Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek was out of luck at Anfield as the Pole recovered from a fatigue-related problem to start the game, only to be forced off after 19 minutes with a head injury.

Bednarek will sit out this game under concussion protocol, meaning Armel Bella-Kotchap - who was praised by his manager for his performance at Anfield - is likely to come in.

James Bree (thigh), Ryan Fraser (calf), Ross Stewart (fitness) and Juan Larios (fitness) remain sidelined, while Smallbone has also been ruled out with an unspecified problem.

Meanwhile, Wolves' Pereira was forced to withdraw goalscorer Munetsi at half-time against Everton after the midfielder "felt something", although his problem does not appear to be serious as he has been called up to the Zimbabwe squad for this month's international fixtures.

Hwang Hee-chan, Goncalo Guedes, Pablo Sarabia and Rodrigo Gomes are all alternative options, but Munetsi is expected to be fit for Saturday's game, when Cunha will serve the second of his three-match ban.

Long-term knee victims Sasa Kalajdzic, Leon Chiwone, Yerson Mosquera and Enso Gonzalez remain sidelined for Saturday's visit.

Possible starting lineup

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Ramsdale; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bella-Kotchap, Manning; Ugochukwu, Downes; Dibling, Fernandes, Sulemana; Onuachu

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Doherty, Toti, Agbadou; Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Munetsi, Bellegarde; Larsen