Match Pack: Saints vs Birmingham
Saints are back at St Mary's on Saturday as Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City come to town in front of the Sky Sports cameras. Get set for the Sky Bet Championship clash with our Match Pack...
THE MATCH
Saints vs Birmingham City
Sky Bet Championship
St Mary’s Stadium
Saturday 28th October, 12:30pm BST
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: David Webb
Assistants: Daniel Leach, Mark Russell
Fourth official: Alan Young
WHAT KIT WILL SAINTS BE WEARING?
Returning to St Mary's, Saints will be in their red and white striped home kit with black shorts and white socks.
Saints will be looking to continue their unbeaten streak.
HOW TO WATCH?
Saturday's early kick-off will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, with coverage starting at 12pm on the Sky Sports Football channel. The second half action will also be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event from 1:30pm
Only international fans in unsold markets and other selected territories, whether you have a Season Pass or you’re buying match-by-match (£10), will be able to stream video coverage of our game against Birmingham on Saints Play.
Video coverage of Saints vs Birmingham won’t be available through Saints Play to fans in the UK and Ireland due to the Sky Sports coverage.
Everyone, including those of you in the UK and Ireland, will be able to listen to audio coverage of the weekend’s action.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Saints head into their third game in a week with their recent unbeaten run still intact thanks to late drama against Preston North End on Wednesday evening.
Russell Martin's side are unbeaten in five games now, with three wins and two draws making up their positive form.
Wayne Rooney is still chasing his first victory as Birmingham City boss since his arrival two weeks ago; The Blues have suffered back-to-back defeats against Middlesbrough and Hull City during their return to action.
TEAM NEWS
Russell Martin didn't share any fresh injury concerns from the midweek trip to Preston, but Saints' manager admitted their may be some personnel changes to manage fitness and recovery.
Jack Stephens, Ross Stewart and Juan Larios continue to be the only longer-term absentees.
Birmingham will be without Juninho Bacuna who received a one-match ban after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season in midweek, whilst Ethan Laird will still be sidelined with a recent injury blow.
There remains another five Blues players on the injury list with Keshi Anderson, Lee Buchanan, Alfie Chang, George Hall and Tyler Roberts all unavailable.
THE MANAGERS
Russell Martin: “We have to take into account all the travelling, some tired bodies and some tired minds so mentally and physically we have to get [the players] as ready as we possibly can.
“I think we’ve had a good balance between work and recovery over the last couple of days, I’m sure there will be changes but we need to bring a lot of energy onto the pitch - I’m confident whatever team we put out we will approach it in the right way to try and win the game.”
Wayne Rooney: To follow.
TOP SCORERS
Southampton
Goals:
Adam Armstrong 7
Ché Adams 3
Smallbone, Edozie, S Armstrong 2
Assists:
Walker-Peters, Adams, Kamaldeen, Manning 2
Bazunu, A Armstrong, Smallbone, Doyle 1
Birmingham
Goals:
Bacuna, Dembélé, Stansfield 3
Miyoshi, Jutkiewicz, Hogan 2
Gardner, James, Sanderson 1
Assists:
Miyoshi, Longelo, Drameh, Sunjic 2
Bacuna, Jutkiewicz, Anderson 1
ONES TO WATCH
Will Smallbone: Saints' midfielder has returned from the international break in good form with a goal contribution in each of his last two games.
He scored the opening goal against Hull City with a composed finish before setting up Kyle Walker-Peters' strike against Preston in midweek.
Cody Drameh: Birmingham's on-loan right-back has been an outlet for The Blues this season, with back-to-back assists before the international break before maintaining positive displays even in their recent defeats.
Cody Drameh in action for Birmingham.
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 48
Saints: 20
Draws: 11
Rotherham: 17
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
February 2012: Birmingham 0-0 Saints
September 2011: Saints 4-1 Birmingham (Lambert 2, Do Prado, Chaplow)
August 2009: Saints 1-2 Birmingham (Lallana)
March 2009: Birmingham 1-0 Saints
August 2008: Saints 2-0 Birmingham (Holmes, Lallana)
DID YOU KNOW?
Saints head into their final match of October unbeaten so far this month. If they avoid defeat against Birmingham, it'll be the first time since February 2022 that a Saints side hasn't tasted defeat for a full calendar month.
KEEP UP TO DATE
Not joining us at St Mary’s? We’ve got you covered! We’ll bring you all the behind-the-scenes content alongside the in-game action as Saints host Birmingham City.
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:
