Match Preview: Southampton straightforward? This is Brighton…

February 22, 2025February 22, 2025 Andrew James 0 Comments

Up next for Brighton is a trip along the south coast to Southampton. The Saints currently sit rock bottom of the Premier League, not quite the top return the club had envisioned after winning promotion through the Championship playoffs last season.

Their new Croatian head coach, Ivan Juric, has helped Southampton play slightly better football in recent weeks after joining the club late December in place of former Albion youth team player Russel Martin.

Mathematically, the Saints can still survive although it looks very difficult. Brighton will need to be wary of a cornered, wounded animal with nothing to lose. That makes Southampton dangerous and means the game at St Mary’s may not be as straightforward as it looks on paper.

Saints should at least avoid setting a new Premier League record by breaking the 11 point low set by Derby County in 2007-08.

They currently have nine to their name, meaning one more win will ensure they do not eclipse the Rams. Hold that thought…

Best Albion performance of the season?

The 3-0 win over Chelsea on Valentine’s Day was arguably the best Brighton performance of the season. Every player gave 110 percent in a real team effort with 9/10s all over the pitch.

It showed the togetherness within the squad, something that was widely questioned only a couple of weeks ago after that heavy defeat to Nottingham Forest.

The Blues did not even register a single shot on target. Yankubu Minteh scored a fantastic brace after causing Chelsea all sorts of issues.

But the highlight of the match without a shadow of a doubt was that wonder goal by Kaoru Mitoma. The Japanese winger was a cut above everyone else and now has a Goal of the Season contender to his name.

It started with a beautiful ball delivered forward from Bart Verbruggen, who glided a long pass over everyone to land perfectly at the feet of Mitoma.

The first touch from Mitoma was sublime, even being described as Lionel Messi-esque. Mitoma then fired a powerful low driven shot into the bottom right corner, giving Filip Jorgenson no chance in the Blues goal.

From a Chelsea point of view, it is one thing to lose a game. But to lose twice against the exact same opponent, six days apart and by a bigger margin is embarrassing. No other word can describe it.

And that is before mentioning the Blues have spent £1.5 billion on players since 2022. To put that into context, it is more than the defence budget of some smaller nations.

Nevertheless, take nothing about from Brighton. The Albion gave a performance every Seagulls fan can be proud of. It should be a huge confidence booster and hopefully the spark to send us on a nice little run…

Saints taste defeat once again

Southampton tasted defeat for the 19th time in the Premier League this season when welcoming Bournemouth to St Mary’s.

Cherries fans consider this a derby but Saints supporters are obviously more concerned with Portsmouth, who they could be facing next season in the Championship.

Bournemouth took the bragging rights, running out 3-1 winners as they continue a superb campaign which currently sees them sit fifth in the table.

Southampton for their part had some good moments and gave a decent account of themselves. The Cherries though were just too strong.

Dango Ouattara, Ryan Christie and Marcus Tavenier got the Bournemouth goals with Kaladeen Suleman striking for the Saints (more on him later).

Southampton v Brighton head-to-head

This will be the 55th meeting between Southampton and Brighton. The Saints lead the head-to-head by a long way, claiming victory in almost half of those games.

Southampton have 26 wins compared to 11 for the Albion. The 17 remaining mathches have finished all square, including when the Saints took one of their nine points so far away from the Amex back in November.

Brighton v Southampton team news

Your weekly reminder that Igor Julio and Ferdi Kadioglu are out for the rest of the season. Captain Lewis Dunk is also unavailable for the Southampton game after coming off injured against Chelsea two weeks ago with a rib injury. No timescale has been put on his return.

In more positive news, James Milner is back in training and could return soon following a six month layoff with a minor hamstring injury.

Mats Wieffer is back and made the bench last Friday, although he was an unused substitute. Pervis Estupinan and Solly March may both join Wieffer amongst the subs at St Mary’s with Fabian Hurzeler saying in his pre-game press conference the duo were fit and available for selection.

This is fantastic news as it adds more options for Hurzeler; not to mention bringing some much needed experience into the squad.

Southampton have their fair share of injury problems too. As many as five players could potentially miss the visit of the Albion.

Centre back duo Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jack Stephens have question marks over their fitness. Ryan Fraser is definitely out with a calf injury, as is striker Ross Stewart.

The Scotsman has made only eight appearances since signing from Sunderland in the summer of 2023, having had no luck staying fit.

Lastly, former Albion midfielder Adam Lallana could be in contention to return to the bench. The veteran has been suffering from a thigh issue. Should he play on Saturday, he will no doubt get a nice reception from all those travelling Brighton fans.

Southampton players to watch out for

Even with Southampton sitting at the foot of the table, they still possess a few individuals who have impressed so far this season.

Tyler Dibling

Saints fans have had very little to cheer about. But one thing they can certainly be proud of is the way academy graduate Tyler Dibling has performed.

The 19-year-old is having a a fantastic breakout year with two goals and two assists. Although those numbers do not exactly jump out at you, many of his performances have been solid – especially in the first 12-15 games of the season.

His favoured position is on the right wing but he can also play in an attacking midfield role too. Many top European clubs have already scouted Dibling, with the England Under 21 international expected to move on in the summer should the Saints fail to get out of the drop zone.

Although he has not quite hit the heights he did earlier in the campaign during recent games, he is still very much a threat. And he has the added motivation of not only trying to keep Saints up, but trying to impress to secure a summer transfer.

I would love to see Dibbling join Brighton ahead of some of the giants said to be interested. He has the sort of profile which fits the Albion to a tee and could develop into a top class player in the environment provided at the Amex.

Kamaldeen Sulemana

23-year-old Ghanian international Sulemana bagged his first goal of the season last time out against Bournemouth. He will no doubt be full of confidence and will be looking to build on that.

Just like Dibling, Sulemana has shown promise this season. He is a left winger by trade and offers Southampton plenty of pace down the flank.

Sulemana has primarily started games from the bench but his goal last weekend could well have earned him a spot in the starting XI against the Albion.

Joel Veltman will be key in helping to keep Sulemana quiet this weekend. It will be an interesting duel of raw pace against intelligence and experience.

Final thoughts

A trip to Southampton presents an excellent opportunity for Brighton to close the gap on teams above them; particularly those currently occupying the European spots.

But the Albion should not come into it with any illusions it will be easy. Saints are not mathematically down yet and will be desperate to surpass that 11 point mark ASAP.

Brighton are known for dropping points against sides struggling in the table, especially coming off the back of winning games you did not necessarily expect them to. It would be Typical Brighton to follow up two wins in six days over Chelsea by failing to beat rock-bottom Southampton.

Already this season, we have seen the Albion throw away 2-0 leads against Wolves and Leicester City. Two teams who have spent most of the season alongside Southampton in the relegation zone.

But all that being said, I do still feel confident that Brighton have enough to get the job done at St Mary’s. Especially with players returning from injuries and a more experienced look to the squad now.

Many of my colleagues are Saints fans, so for the sake of my sanity going back to work I am praying for an Albion win. No pressure, lads…