Southampton FC vs West Bromwich Albion FC, free match prediction 04 Oct 2020

SOUTHAMPTON FC vs WEST BROMWICH ALBION FC Match Preview & Analysis

Until last weekend, both Southampton and West Brom were pointless after two defeats from two games, with performances dull enough to wonder where their first points of the season would come from.

West Brom then shocked Chelsea with a blistering first half display that put them 3-0 ahead, only for Frank Lampard’s side to bite back and claim a draw.

Southampton fared slightly better still, by beating Burnley in a tight encounter, with their topscorer last season Danny Ings netting his first goal of the new campaign.

So, these teams both have their first points of the season, but all is clearly not rosy near the bottom of the table.

Southampton will fancy their chances, especially now that Ings has a taste for goals again, though as we saw last weekend, West Brom can spring a surprise when least expected.

Teams Preview

Southampton FC Preview

Form Guide (all comps): LLLW

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Won their last three league meetings against West Brom

     Will be licking their lips playing against the worst defence in the league

Reasons to be fearful:

     Forward players haven’t got started yet this season

     West Brom can cause problems

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl will be hoping that his side can now pick up a good run of form after securing their first win of the season against Burnley last weekend.

They’ve not played particularly well so far, but will take credit from being more solid in defence, as well as their key striker Danny Ings scoring the winner.

Southampton also have a great recent record against The Baggies, only losing once in their last seven meetings. 

They must improve their chance-creation – they failed to have a shot on target other than Ings’ goal last weekend, showing that they have to do more as a collective to improve their form.

West Brom are really struggling, however, and will be gutted not to win against Chelsea last weekend. If Southampton have any hope of reaching the top half of the table, they must be ruthless in these sorts of games.

Star Man – Danny Ings

Finally off the mark this season, he has scored 46% of Southampton’s goals since the start of last year

West Bromwich Albion FC Preview

Form Guide (all comps): LWLLD

Reasons to be cheerful

     Will take heart from their performance against Chelsea

     Forward players starting to find some form

Reasons to be fearful

     Conceded a league-high 11 goals so far this season

     Will struggle this season unless they improve defensively

West Brom will consider themselves desperately unlucky that they couldn’t come away with a victory against Chelsea last weekend. Their first half performance certainly deserved the three points.

Chelsea came out swinging in the second half and in the end, it was a little bit like men vs. boys in Chelsea’s favour. 

A draw against Chelsea is always a bonus for a team like West Brom, but manager Slaven Bilic will hope his players are not too deflated at how close they came to winning.

There were plenty of positives – their forward players are now starting to find some form in front of goal, with Callum Robinson scoring a double, Pereira having a hand in two goals in three games and youngster Grady Diangana looking like a real handful.

Defensively is the question mark, however, and if they are to survive relegation this season, they will have to significantly tighten up at the back.

They will be wary of Danny Ings and it could be a long afternoon if they give him chances.

Star Man – Callum Robinson

Scored for the first time since August 2019, he took his goals against Chelsea excellently