Match Pack: Saints vs Watford
Game two of three this week at St Mary's Stadium sees Watford visit to face Southampton in the Sky Bet Championship. Get ready for the clash with our Match Pack...
THE MATCH
Saints vs Watford
Sky Bet Championship
St Mary's Stadium
Saturday 11th April, 3pm BST
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Josh Smith
Assistants: Matthew Jones, Sam Lewis
Fourth official: Sam Purkiss
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans not in the UK or Ireland can catch Saturday's action by purchasing a video pass below. Those closer to home will not be able to access this due to the 3pm blackout.
Alternatively fans in the UK and Ireland, as well as those worldwide, can buy an audio pass.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
With two games in hand still to play, Saints find themselves in an interesting position as we enter the final stretch of the season.
Sitting ten points behind the automatic places, and with the top three all dropping points during the week, another win on Saturday would set up a grand stand finish.
But they come up against an in-form Watford side, who have lost just once in their last six, including draws against high-flying Leeds and Ipswich.
A win at St Mary's on Saturday could see them leap over Sunderland in 13th, extending the gap between them and the bottom three.
TEAM NEWS
Russell Martin confirmed every player is good from Tuesday night's win over Coventry, with long-term absentees Ross Stewart and Juan Larios stepping up their recoveries.
It's similar news for visiting Watford, who have no new injuries from their draw at Ipswich and will continue to assess the fitness of midfielder Ken Sema and defender Jeremy Ngakia.
THE MANAGERS
Russell Martin: "Tom Cleverly is doing a really brilliant job, I really enjoyed their performance on Wednesday. There was a lot to like.
"It looks like the players are enjoying it and they look really up for the fight. It’s about us and about making it into the game we want it to be."
Tom Cleverley: "They are the best possession team in the league and also they’re very good at pressing teams as well so you have to be really efficient with everything you do with concentration levels at an absolute maximum, for 95 minutes or 100 minutes.
"But they do give you a chance. We go there with a clear game plan to win the game, not to just not get beat but to win the game. We have the belief we can do that."
TOP SCORERS
Southampton
Goals:
Adam Armstrong 20
Ché Adams 14
Ryan Fraser 8
Assists:
Adam Armstrong 11
Stuart Armstrong 7
Ché Adams 5
Watford
Goals:
Mileta Rajovic 11
Vakoun Bayo 7
Asprilla, Martins 6
Assists:
Yáser Asprilla 6
Ken Sema 4
Five players 3
ONES TO WATCH
Ché Adams: Havingbeen involved in both of Saints' goals on Tuesday night, Ché Adams has now contributed to five in his last eight games, proving to be in a rich vein of form.
Saturday sees him come up against a side he's enjoying playing against; scoring three goals in six games and losing just once against the Hornets.
Emmanuel Dennis: During Watford's recent unbeaten run, January acquisition Dennis has proven a key and consistent outlet for the Hornets.
Despite back-to-back goals against Birmingham and Leeds to kick-start it all the forward only featured for the final four minutes of Wednesday's draw at Ipswich, so will be looking to regain his place in the side with a strong performance on the south coast.
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 90
Saints: 39
Draws: 24
Watford: 27
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
February 2024: Saints 3-0 Watford (Mara x2, Adams) FA Cup
January 2024: Watford 1-1 Saints (S Armstrong) FA Cup
December 2023: Watford 1-1 Saints (Adams)
March 2022: Saints 1-2 Watford (Elyounoussi)
October 2021: Watford 0-1 Saints (Adams)
KEEP UP TO DATE
Can't make it back to St Mary's Stadium? We’ve got you covered! We’ll bring you all the behind-the-scenes content alongside the in-game action as Saints welcome Watford.
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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