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Southampton will invite Bristol City to the St. Mary's Stadium in the EFL Championship on Wednesday.
The hosts head into the match on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Championship and were held to a 1-1 draw by Huddersfield Town on Saturday. Adam Armstrong continued his fine form with a goal in the added time of the first half which was canceled out by Ben Jackson in the 87th minute.
The visitors are unbeaten in their last three league games, recording two wins. In their first game back after the international break, they registered a 3-2 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday. Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Tommy Conway, and Mark Sykes were on the scoresheet to help them to their seventh win of the season.
The hosts are in fourth place in the league table with 31 points to their name from 17 games. The visitors are in 11th place with 25 games and can move into the upper half of the table with a win.
Southampton vs Bristol City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two southern English rivals have squared off 48 times in all competitions, with their first meeting dating back to 1897 in the FA Cup. The hosts have the upper hand in the head-to-head record with 25 wins. The visitors have 16 wins to their name and seven games have ended in draws.
- The two teams have met just six times in the EFL Championship, with just one win for Southampton and five games going Bristol City's way.
- They will meet for the first time since squaring off in the third round of the Carabao Cup in 2013. The Saints registered a comfortable 2-0 home win in that meeting, which was their first triumph against the visitors after four consecutive defeats.
- The visitors have just one win in their last four away games, failing to score three times in that period.
Southampton vs Bristol City Prediction
The Saints head into the match on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Championship, recording six wins. They are unbeaten in their last four home games as well, recording three wins.
Russell Martin remains without the services of Juan Larios and captain Jack Stephens, who returned to training after 12 weeks but is not match fit yet. Che Adams came on from the bench in the 90th minute against Huddersfield last week and might get the nod to start here.
The Robins have bounced back well from back-to-back defeats in October and are unbeaten in their last three league games. Interestingly, they have just one win in their last five away games, suffering three defeats and failing to score thrice in that period as well.
Liam Manning has enjoyed an unbeaten start to his spell as the manager of Bristol City, recording one win in two games. He has a lengthy absentee list for the trip to Hampshire, to which Cameron Pring was added after his fifth yellow card of the season last week.
They have won just four of their 23 away meetings against the hosts which is a cause for concern. With that in mind and considering the hosts' nine-game unbeaten run in the competition currently, we back them to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Southampton 2-1 Bristol City
Southampton vs Bristol City Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Southampton to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Adam Armstrong to score or assist any time - Yes
