Wanderers travel to the South Coast this Saturday, as they take on Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium in the second of successive away games.
Steven Schumacher’s side managed to secure back-to-back away wins for the first time since October 2024, as goals from Atsuki Ito, Sam Dalby and a superb finish from Josh Sheehan secured all three points against Wolves at the Molineux on Tuesday night.
Southampton – who began the season with a four-point deduction – currently sit in the playoff places in seventh, following a run of form that has seen them become the league’s second top scoring side, behind only West Ham.
Our last meeting with Southampton requires a journey back into the history books, with our last league fixture being a one-all draw against the side back in April of 2004.
Form Guide
The Whites secured an excellent victory away from home on Tuesday, as they took on Wolves at the Molineux. A cross from Josh Sheehan following an Illing-Junior corner saw Atsuki Ito finish well to pick up his second goal in Bolton colours. While Sam Dalby picked up his fourth goal of the season deep into the second half, with a deft finish close to the net from a Larrazabal low cross. The final finish was courtesy of Josh Sheehan, a bouncing ball 25 yards from goal was picked up beautifully by the Welshman, as he volleyed perfectly past Jose Sá. It saw the Wanderers move up to fourteenth in the table heading into the clash with Southampton.
The Saints have seen mixed form in previous games. A late own-goal saw Wrexham secure three points against the Hampshire side prior to the international break. However, there was joy following the resumption of league football, as they secured a memorable win in the South Coast Derby over fierce rivals Portsmouth, despite being down to ten-men for much of the game. Most recently, Tonda Eckert’s side beat Norwich one-nil away from home at Carrow Road, picking up their first away win of the season on Wednesday night.
What they say
Steven Schumacher: “Your focus is on the next challenge ahead, which is a huge one in Southampton. We did a lot of good things right on Tuesday night, and we have to try and figure out what we did so well and what was good about our performance and then try and use that for the next one. So, its constant challenges and, as you say, you don’t get much time.”
“I think they’ve [the players] shown they’re enjoying it. They’re a team that are embracing the challenges that’s ahead of us. You know, we were desperate to get to this level, to play in these big games, and when you get the opportunity to play in the games then there’s no point in freezing or playing within yourself. I think a lot of players have shown that they are capable of stepping up to the level, and there’s also parts of the game that we also understand and need to get better at. It’s all part of the journey and were only ten games in, but at the moment there’s more positive signs in my opinion than negative ones.”
Tonda Eckert spoke to the media after their win away at Norwich, talking about their performances recently: “There were a couple of things we knew we needed to improve on in the international break, and one of those quite clearly is that we sometimes need to get away with three points, even if we score only one goal. It’s not that we can score five every time. We haven’t conceded massively, but we hadn’t had a clean sheet in the first eight games.”
Who to watch
Wanderers’ will have to look out for several of Southampton’s threats this coming weekend. The Saints’ have the league’s second top scorer in summer signing Cyle Larin, who has picked up seven goals ahead of the fixture after joining from Majorca this summer. He did start Wednesday’s game against Norwich on the bench, however.
Midfielder Finn Azaz is also high up on the stats charts, with the midfielder for picking up five assists so far this season. A regular in the team, he is also an international for Ireland, playing all ninety minutes in their two-all draw with Austria over the international break.
Another to keep a keen eye on is stalwart James Ward-Prowse. After returning to his former team this summer – where he previously made 410 appearances – the midfielder has contributed a goal and assist to his side and continuously looks to move the ball up field. His trademark free kicks are well known up and down the pyramid too, despite last scoring one in February 2023.
Team News
Wanderers remain without defender Chris Forino ahead of the clash, who is set for a potential return against Middlesborough next week following his recovery from a groin injury. No new doubts have emerged following the win against Wolves.
Southampton have a fresh doubt in midfielder Flynn Downes, who came off just 22 minutes into their fixture with Norwich. Casper Jander is back in consideration for the side, as he replaced Downes early on in that match.
Southampton are also bolstered by the return of defender Cameron Bragg, who is available following his suspension from a red card against Portsmouth last weekend.
Kick Off
Saturday, 17th October, 3pm.
Referee
Matt Donohue
Wanderers TV
As always, our Overseas subscribers (except those in Ireland and the Nordic Regions) can watch the match live on Wanderers TV, with match passes and our season subscription available to supporters. For those based in the UK, match commentary is available with John McGinlay and Derek Clark.
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