Match Pack: Saints vs Sunderland
It's matchday at St Mary's on Saturday as Saints host Sunderland in the Sky Bet Championship. Get prepared for the encounter with our Match Pack...
THE MATCH
Saints vs Sunderland
Sky Bet Championship
St Mary’s Stadium
Saturday 9th March, 3pm GMT
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Assistants: Harry Lennard, Richard West
Fourth official: Ed Duckworth
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans outside of the UK and Ireland can watch the action with a Saints Play Seasonal Video Pass or match-by-match pass.
Video coverage isn't available to fans in the UK and Ireland for this match because of the 3pm blackout.
However, fans in the UK and Ireland - plus internationally - can purchase an audio pass which will cover the month for £4.49:
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
After Wednesday's game against Preston was postponed, Saints will be desperate to claw back ground on their fellow promotion chasers who all won in midweek.
Leicester, Ipswich and Leeds all collected maximum points, heightening the need for Russell Martin's side to reduce the deficit, albeit with a game still in hand.
With no game for three weeks after Saturday's showdown, the hosts will want to send a sell-out St Mary's crowd home happy.
TEAM NEWS
Kyle Walker-Peters won't be risked on Saturday, with the full-back still recovering from a quad injury picked up against Liverpool.
Longer term absentees Ross Stewart and Juan Larios remain unavailable.
THE MANAGERS
Russell Martin: "They played really well on Tuesday and will consider themselves really unfortunate not to at least get a point against Leicester.
"They’re really well organised and really well coached and have some extremely talented individuals. It will be a difficult game and I have a lot of respect for what they do and they were really good against us earlier in the season."
Mike Dodds: "I think Russell Martin has had a very clear identity of how he wants his team to play. I think they have so much individual quality. It was similar to Leicester.
"It’s whether the players can win their individual duels to get the result."
TOP SCORERS
Southampton
Goals:
Adam Armstrong 17
Ché Adams 12
Ryan Fraser 8
Assists:
Adam Armstrong 11
Stuart Armstrong 6
Ché Adams 5
Sunderland
Goals:
Jack Clarke 15
Jobe Bellingham 5
Neil, Ekwah 4
Assists:
Alex Pritchard 5
Clarke, Neil, Ba 4
Ekwah, Roberts 2
ONES TO WATCH
Joe Aribo: Back to his best after returning from AFCON, Aribo was Saints' super sub last Saturday, netting the 96th-minute winner at Birmingham.
Finding his best form in a Saints shirt as part of a midfield three, Russell Martin could be tempted to reward the Nigeria international with a start.
Jack Clarke: The winger is the Black Cats' leading goal scorer by some distance and is both their finisher and creator in chief.
The 23-year-old opened the scoring in the reverse fixture inside a minute and will need to be closely monitored at St Mary's.
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 69
Saints: 27
Draws: 17
Preston: 25
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
September 2023: Sunderland 5-0 Saints
February 2017: Sunderland 0-4 Saints (Gabbiadini 2, Long, Denayer OG)
October 2016: Saints 1-0 Sunderland (Boufal) League Cup
August 2016: Saints 1-1 Sunderland (Rodriguez)
March 2016: Saints 1-1 Sunderland (van Dijk)
DID YOU KNOW?
Saints have lost just one of their 11 home games played on a Saturday this season (W8 D2).
KEEP UP TO DATE
Unable to make it to 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 Sunderland.
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:
- Instagram
- Twitter
- Facebook
Viewing this page on a mobile device? Download the Saints app for all the latest news, feature videos and interactive content to get you closer to the action!
