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The Saints edged out Championship side Swansea at the weekend in a 3-2 thriller after extra-time, and while the FA Cup is their only chance of silverware this season, their primary focus will certainly be on avoiding being dragged into a relegation scrap, and a victory here would go a long way in helping that.
Their victory over West Ham on Boxing Day is their only win since the November international break, though they’ve proven difficult to beat and have lost just one of their last seven outings in all competitions.
Brentford sit two points above Southampton, and have had flashes of brilliance this season. Ultimately their goal is also to avoid the drop, especially considering this is their first season in the top-flight, and fans will be happy with how the season is panning out.
Consistency has been the biggest issue for Thomas Frank’s men, who are yet to win successive league matches this season, though they’ll have another crack at that here having beaten Villa 2-1 in their last outing.
Only Liverpool have lost fewer home games than Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men this season, with Chelsea and Man City the only other sides matching their tally of one, though victories have been hard to come by with 2/3rds of their matches at St. Mary’s ending all square.
While Brentford haven’t had the best time of it away from home lately, going winless in their last five, they’ve managed a point in three of those road trips, and they’ll take confidence from the fact that they’ve won their last two matches against bottom-half sides.
Southampton And Brentford To Draw
A draw is an extremely likely outcome here, with no side seeing more home draws than Southampton this year, while only Brighton have seen more stalemates on the road than the Bees and that seems to be where the value lies in this one with very little to separate them.
The hosts have an issue at right back for this clash, with Tino Liveramento injured, while Yan Valery is suspended having picked up a red card against Swansea at the weekend, as is Kyle Walker-Peters and while James-Ward Prowse could fill in, that would take him away from where he can be most influential in the middle of the park, and it’s likely that Hasenhuttl will opt for three at the back here.
It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve adopted that tactic, and they’ve had no issue with it in the past so we wouldn’t think that would have an overbearing influence on their chances.
PREDICTION:
SOUTHAMPTON AND BRENTFORD TO DRAW
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