U21 Preview: Saints vs Lyon
Southampton’s Under-21s kick off their Premier League International Cup campaign as they host Lyon at AFC Totton's Snows Stadium on Wednesday evening.
THE MATCH
Saints vs Lyon
Premier League International Cup
Snows Stadium
Wednesday 4th October, 7pm BST
For ticket details see below
Saints are now unbeaten in two games and have scored nine goals since returning to Premier League 2 action after the international break.
Goals from Princewill Ehibhatiomhan and Sam Amo-Ameyaw, and a pair of braces from Kamari Doyle and Tyler Dibling, completed a 6-0 rout over Reading last Friday as Saints moved up into the PL2 playoff qualification places.
The youngsters face a new challenge on Wednesday evening, however, as they return to Premier League International Cup action for the first time since the 2019/20 season.
Saints will be looking for a better showing than their last campaign when they finished bottom of Group F, but will be hoping to replicate their 2018/19 efforts when they reached the semi-finals after topping Group A ahead of Dinamo Zagreb, Porto, and West Ham.
Tyler Dibling scored a brace against Reading. (Photo: Chris Moorhouse)
Lyon's Under-21s are entering the competition for the first time and have already played their first match, beating Chelsea 3-1 in September.
Samuel Bossiwa levelled the scores in the second half before a brace from Romain Perret sealed the victory at Kingsmeadow.
Led by former-Lyon midfielder Gueïda Fofana, Les Gones play in the Championnat National 3 - the fifth tier of French football - which is the second-highest division a reserve team can enter in France.
PREVIOUS MATCH
Saints' last victory in the Premier League International Cup came in the quarter-finals of the 2018/19 campaign as they advanced to the final four after knocking out Villareal.
Will Smallbone opened the scoring from the penalty spot and Tom O'Connor scored the eventual winner just after the hour mark in a fiery encounter at Staplewood.
PLAYER PREVIEW
After an impressive team and individual display against Reading last Friday, Tyler Dibling looked ahead to Wednesday night's European encounter with plenty of positivity.
"Scoring goals feels good, I want to score more and hopefully get a goal contribution every game, keep playing well and playing for the team and we should do well.
"We scored three goals at West Ham and now six [against Reading] with a clean sheet as well so this gives us double confidence."
TICKET/STREAMING INFORMATION
Southampton FC and AFC Totton season ticket holders can get FREE ENTRY on the day.
Friday's fixture kicks off at 7pm kick-off and match tickets are still available to be purchased online, priced as follows:
- Adults - £5
- Over-65s - £3
- Under-14s - £1
Due to clashes with the UEFA Youth League, there is unfortunately no live stream of Wednesday's game.
