Southampton and Swansea City will be united in their desire to get past FA Cup disappointments with a win on Sunday when they meet for their league game at St Mary’s in a game that has become the Jack Cork Derby.
Cork completed his move from Southampton to Swansea today, but not in time to feature in this game.
The Saints’ defence, which is the best in the league, conceded three times last weekend as Crystal Palace came from behind to claim a 3-2 win in the fourth-round of the FA Cup.
Swansea were also shocked in their FA Cup outing as Championship side Blackburn Rovers scored two late goals to knock the Swans out of the competition in a game that ended with Garry Monk’s side reduced to nine-men.
But it’s a different story in the Premier League as Southampton are currently third in the league with the most number of clean sheets and a far better defensive record. Ronald Koeman’s side are currently topping the form table over the last six games, with five wins and a draw.
The Swans may not be enjoying that kind of form but they are having a decent season and currently lie ninth in the table with a good chance of qualifying for Europe at the end of the season.
Southampton team news
- Maya Yoshida and Sadio Mane may both be available this weekend having been eliminated from the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations with Japan and Senegal, respectively.
- Shane Long (ribs), Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama (both hamstring) and Morgan Schneiderlin (adductor) are unavailable due to injury.
- Sam Gallagher (knee) and Jay Rodriguez (knee) remain long-term absentees, while Emmanuel Mayuka (knock) is also injured.
Swansea City team news
- The Swans will be without suspended pair Gylfi Sigurdsson and Kyle Bartley for Sunday’s trip to Southampton following their FA Cup red cards at Blackburn last weekend.
- Ashley Williams has recovered from a shoulder problem and Neil Taylor will return after being rested.
- Jefferson Montero is in contention to start after marking his comeback from hamstring trouble with a substitute appearance at Blackburn.
- Ki Sung-Yueng is unavailable again as South Korea will be competing in the final of the Asian Cup this weekend.
Southampton vs Swansea City prediction
With Schneiderlin and Wanyama still unavailable and Cork now with the Swans, Ronald Koeman may start with Harrison Reed and Steven Davis as a central midfield partnership in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Yoshida has been back in the UK for some time and will compete with Florin Gardos to partner Jose Fonte, but Mane may not be risked if his flight returns from Equatorial Guinea without enough time to recover.
Swansea may set up similarly with Tom Carroll and Leon Britton as the holding midfielders, and Jonjo Shelvey as the advanced central attacking midfielder in Sigurdsson’s absence.
These sides are among the best passers of the ball in the division but both are without key central midfielders so the quality in possession may be lower than usual.
Swansea usually struggle against Southampton and will be looking for their first goal against the Saints in five games. They have lost both of their two recent meetings. It is hard to envisage a different result in this game considering that Ki and Sigurdsson will be missing, plus Bafetimbi Gomis still needs more game time to really reach his potential.
Score prediction
Southampton 2-0 Swansea City
