U21 Preview: Saints vs Dinamo Zagreb
Southampton’s Under-21s play their final game of 2023 as they host Dinamo Zagreb in the Premier League International Cup at AFC Totton's Snows Stadium.
THE MATCH
Saints vs Dinamo Zagreb
Premier League International Cup
Snows Stadium
Wednesday 20th December, 7pm BST
For ticket details see below
Saints earned a much-needed return to winning ways last week as a late goal saw them beat Derby County 2-1 at Staplewood in Premier League 2.
It ended a run of five matches without a victory across PL2 and Premier League Cup action, and propelled them up to 16th in the final playoff qualification spot.
Sam Amo-Ameyaw's strike opened the scoring before Derby equalised in the second half, as Luke Pearce then forced an own goal in stoppage time to win the game.
Saints will now look to earn their first points in this season's PL International Cup, as they sit in sixth place in their eight-team group
Saints struck late to beat Derby last week. (Photo: Chris Moorhouse)
Dinamo Zagreb II are also chasing their first win in Group B, but have only played once so far in this season's competition.
Domestically, they played in the Druga NL, the third tier of the Croatian football pyramid, up until 2021 before they disbanded and dropped out of the senior pyramid to play youth fixtures.
They are one-time PL International Cup runners up, losing out in the 2018/19 final against Bayern Munich having beaten Saints on their path.
PREVIOUS MATCH
Saints have faced their Croatian counterparts before in the Premier League International Cup, back in their run to the semi-finals of the 2018/19 edition of the competition.
In the group stages, Sam Gallagher's first half strike was the difference in a 1-0 victory that put Saints on the way to topping Group A.
Zagreb ultimately got revenge when the sides met again in the semi-finals at St Mary's with the visitors winning 3-1 to reach the final against Bayern Munich.
COACHES PREVIEW
Speaking after overseeing his first win in charge of Southampton's Under-21s, Adam Asghar shared the importance of building consistency in his side's results.
"We now need to get some form of momentum, first of all in the performance because there are aspects of the [Derby] performance that I'm really pleased with, but also to make an impact on that competition.
"It's been really enjoyable even though the results haven't gone our way, as the European teams bring something different, so we want to make our mark in terms of a performance to get three points and build momentum to take into the new year."
TICKET/STREAMING INFORMATION
Southampton FC and AFC Totton season ticket holders can get FREE ENTRY on the day.
Live streaming will be available on Saints Play in the UK and worldwide, priced at £2.
Support our Under-21s by tuning in on our website via the game's Match Centre, with kick-off at 7pm on Wednesday night.
Match tickets are still available to be purchased online for supporters to watch at the Snows Stadium, priced as follows:
- Adults - £5
- Over-65s - £3
- Under-14s - £1
