Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side will play their final away match of the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, on Tuesday evening (6pm).
The Whites travel to take on Southampton at St Mary’s knowing that a victory would be enough to guarantee a top half finish, in their first season back in the Premier League following promotion from the Championship last season.
The Saints will be attempting to continue their recent strong form when facing Leeds, having won five of the last six clashes on home turf. The last meeting between the two on the south coast was in 2011, a 3-1 success for the hosts.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have claimed 27 points at St Mary’s this season, with eight wins and three draws from their 18 outings. That puts them in eighth position in the ‘home’ form table. Bielsa’s Leeds side have been thoroughly impressive away from home, though.
Up to now, the Whites have an equal number of wins and defeats (9) on their travels, and are still the only side in the Premier League not to have drawn a match on the road. A tenth success would be the first time that United have achieved that amount within the division.
Also looking to reach that special number 10 will be Patrick Bamford. The striker is on nine away goals so far and if he can reach double figures, he will become only the fourth Leeds player ever to do so. The other three are Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 1998/99 (10), Michael Bridges in 1999/00 (12) and Mark Viduka in 2002/03 (10).
The Saints have well known dangers in attack. England international striker Danny Ings is the top-scorer (12) and fellow England international midfielder, James Ward-Prowse is in control of the assists chart (7). The latter is also renowned for his ability at dead ball situations, when it comes to either shooting or assisting.
Both teams have enjoyed goals from all over the pitch this season, not just from their main forward. Stuart Dallas and Jack Harrison have both netted eight from midfield, whereas Raphinha and Rodrigo have six apiece. For the Saints, Che Adams has nine, Ward-Prowse is on eight and next up is Stuart Armstrong with four.
Leeds could technically still finish as high as sixth in the table, but would need a huge goal-swing to achieve that. A win on Tuesday night would see the move into eighth position having played a game more, above Everton.
Southampton could finish as high as 11th, but again, that would need a huge swing in goal difference which looks unlikely with two games to play. A more realistic target is 12th position, with Wolves just two points ahead entering the final week of the campaign.
Manager/head coach
Saints: Ralph Hasenhuttl
Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa
League position
Saints: 14th
Leeds: 10th
Premier League form
Saints: LDLWW
Leeds: DDLWW
Premier League top scorer
Saints: Danny Ings (12)
Leeds: Patrick Bamford (15)
Head to head
Saints: 27
Draws: 20
Leeds: 46
Last time at St Mary’s Stadium
6th August, 2011
Championship
Southampton 3
Leeds United 1
Team news
Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that Robin Koch and Mateusz Klich will both miss Tuesday’s fixture, due to being rested. The Whites head coach has no further fresh injury news after the weekend win over Burnley.
Southampton are likely to be without Will Smallbone and Ryan Bertrand through injury. Jan Bednarek could also still be missing at the heart of the defence, with Oriol Romeu also sidelined with an ankle injury.
Officials
Referee - Peter Bankes
Assistant Referee 1 - Neil Davies
Assistant Referee 2 - James Mainwaring
Fourth Official - Kevin Friend
Video Assistant Referee - Marc Perry
The key battle
James Ward-Prowse vs Kalvin Phillips
The battle of the England midfield stars! Both players could be teammates for the Euro’s this summer, but on Tuesday evening they could well be matched up against one another in the centre of the pitch. Both players have clear individual quality, but they also play huge roles for their team as well. The ability to both defend and attack will see plenty of battles between Phillips and Ward-Prowse, and who can win them more often than not, is likely to end up on the winning side.
Latest odds
Saints: 13/8
Draw: 11/4
Leeds: 7/5
How to watch
The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports, with live commentary on LUTV.
