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Southampton host Aston Villa at St. Mary's on Saturday evening, with both sides looking to bounce back from defeats in their respective previous matches.
The Saints were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal after they had taken the lead in that game. Stuart Armstrong scored early to give Ralph Hassenhuttl's side the lead in that game.
However, goals from Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette ensured that the Gunners took home the three points.
That defeat left Southampton in 11th position, with 29 points from 19 games. They are now level on points with Villa, but have an inferior goal difference. In addition, Dean Smith's side have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, Villa are coming into this game on the back of a loss. They took the lead twice at Turf Moor against Burnley. However, they eventually left with no points, as the Clarets produced an excellent performance to win 3-2.
Villa have now lost three of their last four league games. They will have to reboot in an attempt to rebuild the momentum they need for the rest of the season.
Southampton vs Aston Villa Head-to-Head
Both Southampton and Aston Villa have won 28 games against each other in 79 previous games. There have been 23 draws in this fixture so far.
James Ward-Prowse scored two sensational free-kicks as Southampton won the reverse fixture at Villa Park 4-3 earlier this season. The Saints had a comfortable 4-1 lead heading into second-half stoppage time, where Villa scored twice.
Southampton Form Guide: L-W-W-L-W
Aston Villa Form Guide: L-W-L-L-L
Southampton vs Aston Villa Team News
Southampton
Southampton's injury list remains too long for Hasenhuttl's liking at the moment. Jannik Vestergaard remains ruled out, alongside Nathan Redmond, Moussa Djenepo and Michael Obafemi.
Injured: Jannik Vestergaard, Michael Obafemi, Moussa Djenepo, Nathan Redmond, Nathan Tella, Oriol Romeu, Will Smallbone
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Aston Villa
Wesley is a long-term absentee for Villa, but they do not have concerns about any other players. New signing Morgan Sanson is available to play, but the midfielder is likely to make his Villa debut from the bench.
Injured: Wesley
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Southampton vs Aston Villa Predicted XI
Southampton Predicted XI (4-4-2): Alex McCarthy; Kyle Walker-Peters, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, Ryan Bertrand; Theo Walcott, Ibrahima Diallo, James Ward-Prowse, Stuart Armstrong; Che Adams, Danny Ings
Arsenal Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Matt Targett; Douglas Luiz, John McGinn; Bertrand Traore, Ross Barkley, Jack Grealish; Ollie Watkins
Southampton vs Aston Villa Prediction
This will be a very close game between two evenly-matched teams. Southampton's injury list is a concern, but in the likes of Ward-Prowse and Ings, they have game-changers in their ranks. The same can be said about Villa's Grealish.
We are predicting a draw in this game.
Prediction: Southampton 1-1 Aston Villa
