Match Pack: Leeds vs Saints
For the final encounter before the Sky Bet Championship play-offs Saints head to Leeds on Saturday. Get clued up ahead of kick-off with our Match Pack...
THE MATCH
Leeds vs Saints
Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Saturday 4th May, 12.30pm BST
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Matthew Donohue
Assistants: Paul Hodskinson, Richard Wild
Fourth official: Anthony Backhouse
WHERE TO WATCH
Saturday's game is only available to watch live on Saints Play in unsold markets due to television rights:
Alternatively, fans both internationally and in the UK and Ireland can purchase an audio pass which will cover the month for £4.49:
UK subscription holders can watch live on Sky Sports Football.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
For Saints, ending a run of three straight defeats will be the priority heading into the play-offs, with Russell Martin’s side already guaranteed to finish in fourth come full-time.
The hosts, however, have a slim chance of gaining automatic promotion at the weekend. Daniel Farke’s side will need to win and hope Ipswich lose at home to strugglers Huddersfield, where goal difference would then see them leapfrog the Tractor Boys.
TEAM NEWS
Ross Stewart will be a part of the travelling squad for the first time since November, with Russell Martin keen to give the striker some minutes ahead of the play-offs.
Striker Sékou Mara misses out with an adductor injury but is expected to return next week.
For the hosts, Dan James is expected to miss out with Connor Roberts a "major doubt" and Patrick Bamford battling a knee injury sustained last time out.
THE MANAGERS
Daniel Farke: "There’s still a chance. If we win the game, it would equal the record point tally this club has achieved. If we don’t go into the top two it’s important for the rhythm and mood.
"We know we play one of the best sides, can play with more freedom than us because they have nothing to lose."
Russell Martin: "The importance of it [the game] is we’ll have a lot of people going up paying a lot of money to travel and to watch the game, so we owe it to them and ourselves to finish the season as well as we can.
"We’re getting ready for the two biggest games of our season but it means this one is so important for that in terms of the things we want to see on the pitch."
TOP SCORERS
Leeds
Goals:
Crysencio Summerville 20
Dan James 13
Joël Piroe 12
Assists:
Georginio Rutter 16
Crysencio Summerville 10
Dan James 8
Southampton
Goals:
Adam Armstrong 20
Ché Adams 18
Ryan Fraser 8
Assists:
Adam Armstrong 13
Stuart Armstrong 7
Adams, Brooks 5
ONES TO WATCH
Crysencio Summerville: The Dutchman boasts 30 goal contributions this season, with his 20 goals making him Leeds' top scorer.
With two goals and an assist 11 days ago at Middlesbrough, Summerville will want to end the regular season on a high at Elland Road.
Ross Stewart: Russell Martin revealed the striker was "furious" at not being named on the bench last weekend against Stoke, with Stewart set to make his return from injury on Saturday.
While expectations have to be realistic, the Scotsman's return is a timely boost heading into the play-offs.
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 99
Leeds: 48
Draws: 22
Saints: 29
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
September 2023: Saints 3-1 Leeds (A Armstrong 2, Smallbone)
February 2023: Leeds 1-0 Saints
August 2022: Saints 2-2 Leeds (Aribo, Walker-Peters)
April 2022: Leeds 1-1 Saints (Ward-Prowse)
October 2021: Saints 1-0 Leeds (Broja)
DID YOU KNOW?
- Saints are looking to complete a league double over Leeds for the first time since 2011/12, when they won promotion to the Championship under former manager Nigel Adkins.
- Outside of the Premier League this century, Saints have won their final league match of the season in six of their last seven seasons (L1), with this their first such fixture since 2011/12 when they won 4-0 against Coventry.
KEEP UP TO DATE
Unable to make the trip to Elland Road? We’ve got you covered! We’ll bring you all the behind-the-scenes content alongside the in-game action as Saints meet Leeds.
Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with live streaming of the game, key updates and audio commentary of the match, and be sure to download the official Saints app and follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:
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