West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton

8th April

Sam Allardyce’s Baggies return to The Hawthorns looking to maintain confidence when they go up against Southampton on Monday evening (ko 6pm).

Albion secured an emphatic 5-2 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge during their last outing and after finding their goal-scoring touch in the capital, Allardyce’s men will hope it continues against the Saints.

Southampton

Their last time out

But Southampton travel to the Black Country in similarly confident mood after overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Burnley 3-2 in their last Premier League game.

Strikes from Stuart Armstrong, Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond sealed three hard-earned points against the Clarets. Southampton will be targeting another victory on Monday evening as they look to keep their hopes of a top-10 finish alive.

In the dugout

Ralph Hasenhuttl has navigated his Southampton side through the highs and lows of the Premier League during a hectic 2020/21 campaign.

The Austrian, who is leading his second full season as Saints boss, endured three consecutive defeats in all competitions at the beginning of the current campaign. But his side soon kicked into gear following a difficult start, losing just two of their next 15 league games with the standout display coming during a 1-0 win over reigning English champions Liverpool at St Mary’s.

But since that uplifting night at the start of 2021, Hasenhuttl had to wait until March before his side got another win against Sheffield United as they went nine games without a victory, including a devastating 9-0 defeat against Manchester United.

Since arriving on the south coast in December 2018, the 53-year-old has instilled an energetic style to Southampton’s play - with proof of its effectiveness showing after netting three goals in their last match against Burnley. And after guiding the Saints from the relegation zone to their highest league finish in three seasons during his debut campaign at the helm, Hasenhuttl will remain hopeful his side can push for a top-10 spot in their remaining games.

One to watch

James Ward-Prowse has been a key element of Southampton’s presence in the final-third this season.

The England international has honed the skill of being a set-piece specialist for the Saints since graduating from their youth ranks in 2011, and has gone on to become the club’s captain in recent years.

Ward-Prowse has tallied 13 direct goal involvements (eight goals, five assists) from 35 appearances in all competitions this term, with a number of impressive free-kicks finding their mark.

The Portsmouth-born midfielder’s deliveries will be an area for Sam Allardyce’s side to focus on coping with during Monday’s clash. But with talisman Danny Ings leading the line and fellow attacker Che Adams in good form (three goals in his last four league games), Southampton will hope to take advantage of their various attacking outlets against Albion.

Our last meeting

Albion suffered a 2-0 defeat against the Saints during this season’s reverse fixture at St Mary’s back in October 2020.

The Baggies’ last triumph over Southampton came over four years ago when Matty Phillips and Hal Robson-Kanu netted important goals to secure a 2-1 win at St Mary’s in December 2016.

Stats

Albion

Albion have lost one of their last five league games at The Hawthorns
The Baggies have also scored in three of their last five PL home games
Sam Allardyce’s side are one of the lowest for being dispossessed this term (239)

Southampton

Southampton have won four of their 15 away PL matches this season
But the Saints have bagged just two wins from their last 13 league games
As opposed to Albion, Southampton have been dispossessed frequently with the fourth-highest rate in the division (291)

Head to head

	Albion wins	Draw	Saints wins
League	23	21	27
FA Cup	1	3	5
Total	24	24	32

Our one to watch

Following last game’s goalscoring exploits, Callum Robinson will be pushing for a place in the starting XI against Southampton on Monday night.

The lively attacker came off the bench towards the end of the first half to help produce an all-action performance against Chelsea - netting a spectacular volley and a delicate chipped effort to round off Albion's 5-2 victory.

And after making a big impression on boss Sam Allardyce with his clinical display, Robinson will hope he can prove himself from the start against Southampton on Monday night as he looks to add to his tally.

Follow the game

Gez Mulholland will be joined by once midfield-now-microphone maestro Andy Johnson to provide proudly partisan commentary and an expert insight for WBA Radio.

To listen live to Baggies-biased commentary on WBA Radio for free for every home and away match during the 2020/21 season all you have to do is sign up for a free My Albion account.

If you haven't already you can create your My Albion account here. Click Create Account or register quickly with your Facebook or Google account.

Live commentary starts from 15 minutes before kick-off and will be accessible through the live match centre or WBA TV.

If you have any issues registering or accessing your My Albion account please contact myalbion@wbafc.co.uk.

The game is also available to watch on Sky Sports.

12th April

Albion recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season with a 3-0 triumph over Southampton on Monday evening.

First-half efforts from Matheus Pereira and Matty Phillips, as well as Callum Robinson’s well-taken strike, earned the Baggies an important three points at The Hawthorns.

And Sam Johnstone completed a fine performance with a magnificent penalty-save late on to deny James Ward-Prowse and ensure he kept Albion's sixth Premier League clean sheet this term.

The result means Sam Allardyce's side have notched eight goals in their last two games and adds momentum to their fight for survival ahead of seven final fixtures.

The gaffer opted to bring Callum Robinson into the starting XI following his fantastic display at Stamford Bridge last weekend.

And his team thought they had made the perfect start inside the first five minutes when Mbaye Diagne headed Darnell Furlong’s drive home, only to see the assistant referee’s flag immediately raised. A lengthy VAR check decided to controversially chalk the goal off, citing inconclusive camera angles as the reason why the original call stood.

The Baggies were dominating and could have opened the scoring a number of times, as Robinson poked wide and Conor Townsend had one well saved.

In what started to become an end-to-end clash, Southampton then went close through Danny Ings and then Stuart Armstrong, with the latter being kept out by a brilliant Johnstone stop.

But it was Albion who took control of the contest shortly after the 30 minute mark. Pereira won, and powerfully converted, a penalty to net his ninth of the season and put the hosts ahead.

179 seconds later things got even better - Diagne latched onto a misplaced pass down the left and sent a superb cross towards the far post, where Phillips was waiting to finish from a tight angle.

Southampton came out fighting in the second-half but couldn’t find the goal to get back in it. Kyle Walker-Peters saw two shots fly off-target before Albion No.1 Johnstone denied England team-mate Ward-Prowse.

This gave the Baggies the chance to wrap things up if they could find another - which they did 21 minutes from time. A fast break saw Robinson go one-on-one against Fraser Forster and the in-form attacker made no mistake.

Albion looked like they'd ended the scoring with Robinson's second in as many games, but Southampton had other ideas as they continued their push for a consolation.

The visitors broke fast in the closing stages of extra-time and after substitute Che Adams guided a shot inches wide of the bottom corner, Southampton got their reward.

The Baggies failed to clear danger in the box and Conor Townsend rashly took out a Saints attacker with a lunging challenge, leaving referee Simon Hooper with no choice but to award a late penalty.

Set-piece specialist Ward-Prowse confidently stepped up to the mark and hit a powerful penalty, but Johnstone guessed correctly to make a fantastic diving save to his right and preserve Albion's clean sheet and cap off another big three points.

Albion: Johnstone, Furlong, O’Shea, Bartley (Ajayi 85), Townsend; Yokuslu, Maitland-Niles; Phillips, Pereira, Robinson (Gallagher 72); Diagne (Robson-Kanu 76).

Substitutes: Button, Peltier, Gibbs, Livermore, Diangana, Grant.

Monday 12th April 2021 - 18:00