Southampton will be looking to build on some recent positive results when they continue their Premier League campaign at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon.
The Saints occupy 15th position in the table but held the champions Manchester City to a 0-0 draw last weekend, while Wolves sit one spot and one point below their opponents at St Mary's.
Match preview
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Southampton are still waiting for their first Premier League victory of the 2021-22 campaign, but they have suffered just one defeat in five games, drawing the other four against Manchester United, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Man City.
The Saints also progressed in the EFL Cup on Tuesday courtesy of a penalty-shootout win over Sheffield United, and head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl will now be looking for his side to triumph in the Premier League ahead of a difficult trip to Stamford Bridge to face title hopefuls Chelsea next weekend.
There were certainly positives in the goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, while Southampton have impressed in their last two home league fixtures against Man United and West Ham.
Hasenhuttl's side have only scored four times in their five matches, which will be a concern having lost Danny Ings over the summer, but they have only conceded six times, and considering the strength of the opposition the Saints have faced, it has been a positive start in a defensive sense.
Southampton have only won one of their last five matches against Wolves in all competitions, though, and just two of their last 12. Last term, Wolves recorded a 2-1 victory in the corresponding match courtesy of second-half goals from Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto.
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The visitors will enter Sunday's contest off the back of a penalty-shootout defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, with Spurs winning on spot kicks following a 2-2 draw at Molineux.
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a tough start to the season for new head coach Bruno Lage, who has picked up just three points from his opening five Premier League fixtures at the helm.
Wolves recorded their first league success of the season away to Watford after the international break but suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford last weekend, with Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbuemo on the scoresheet for the promoted side in the first half of the contest.
A total of three points has left Lage's team in 16th spot in the table, just one point above 18th-placed Newcastle United, and there is already pressure on the new head coach ahead of two huge matches.
Indeed, Wolves will follow this weekend's clash with a home game against fellow strugglers Newcastle on October 2, and alarm bells could start to ring at Molineux if two more defeats arrive before the international break.
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Team News
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Southampton boss Hasenhuttl revealed during Friday's pre-match press conference that Theo Walcott was back in first-team training, but this match will come too soon for the experienced attacker.
Stuart Armstrong and Jack Stephens are also unavailable for the Saints on Sunday afternoon, with the latter facing 12 weeks on the sidelines with the knee issue that he suffered against Man City last weekend.
Hasenhuttl will ring the changes from the EFL Cup contest with Sheffield United, and it would not be a surprise to see largely the same side that started at the Etihad in the league last time out, with the only exception being Mohamed Salisu coming in for Stephens in the middle of the defence.
As for Wolves, Rayan Ait-Nouri will be missing this weekend due to the concussion protocol, while Yerson Mosquera, Jonny Castro, Neto and Hugo Bueno are unavailable for selection.
Despite the disappointing result, head coach Lage could name the same side that started the two-goal loss against Brentford last weekend.
Hwang Hee-chan is pushing to be involved in the final third of the field, but Trincao might just get the nod once again alongside Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore as part of a front three.
Daniel Podence and Fabio Silva are also options in the advanced areas, but Lage is unlikely to spring any surprises in terms of his formation on Sunday, with a 3-4-3 expected once again.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters; Elyounoussi, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Redmond; Armstrong, Adams
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Kilman, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Marcal; Traore, Jimenez, Trincao
We say: Southampton 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Both sides have had their problems in the early stages of the new campaign, but Southampton should enter the contest with superior confidence. Wolves, on paper, arguably have a better starting XI, but we are struggling to separate the two teams here and have therefore had to settle on a low-scoring draw.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Wolverhampton Wanderers win with a probability of 40.29%. A win for Southampton had a probability of 31.28% and a draw had a probability of 28.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wolverhampton Wanderers win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.65%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.11%) and 0-2 (7.76%). The likeliest Southampton win was 1-0 (10.78%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.22%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Wolverhampton Wanderers in this match.
