Stoke City vs Southampton: Premier League match preview

A look head to this weekend’s fixture at the Britannia Stadium

Ronald Koeman has been a success at Southampton (Getty Images)

The battle of the red and white stripes is scheduled to take place at the Britannia Stadium this Saturday, with two sides competing for very different ends to their respective seasons. Mark Hughes has all but led his Stoke City side to Premier League safety, sitting in tenth place and enjoying mid-table security.

Ronald Koeman’s Southampton however, sitting in sixth, a point adrift of Liverpool and five points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, still hold the firm belief that Champions League qualification could be on the cards. Victory at the Britannia would place the Saints right back in the hunt, following a shaky spell in February.

Stoke enter the tie having only won one game in their last five and will be hoping to get back to winning ways to keep at bay the rise of Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace who are fast approaching. The Potters this week welcomed Peter Odemwingie back to full training, though it is unknown whether the Nigerian international will be fit to feature in Saturday’s showdown.

The two sides last met in the league in October, where the Saints took all three points following a Sadio Mane winner. Ronald Koeman will be expecting his side to prevail once again, and has a full team at his disposal going into the clash.

KICK OFF: Saturday, 3pm

PAST THREE MEETINGS…

Stoke City 2 (N‘Zonzi, Diouf) Southampton 3 (Pelle (2) Long) League Cup, October 2014

Southampton 1 (Mane) Stoke City 0 Premier League, October 2014

Southampton 2 (Lambert, Davis) Stoke City 2 (Odemwingie, Crouch) Premier League, February 2014

STATS…

Jonathan Walters leads the way for Stoke this season with 10 goals

Southampton have a 43.94 win percent in this fixture, compared to 36.36 of Stoke City

Saints striker Graziano Pelle’s goal last weekend against Hull City ended a 15 game dry spell.

ODDS…

Stoke City to win 3.6

Southampton to win 2.3

Draw 3.3

TV: Highlights, BBC One, Saturday 10.30pm