Russell Martin's side take on Nuno Espírito Santo's Forest.
15:00 Saturday
Southampton host their first game at St Mary's since their return to the Premier League when they welcome Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Southampton vs Nottingham Forest Prediction
Southampton failed to make their dominance count against 10-men Newcastle last weekend, eventually proving the architects of their own downfall in a 1-0 defeat.
Russell Martin's side will be buoyed by what was a genuinely encouraging performance, even when playing against 11, and will hope to pick up their first points here.
Nottingham Forest were five minutes away from an opening day victory over Bournemouth last Saturday, but succumbed to a late Cherries equaliser.
Nuno's side will see the trip to Southampton as a huge opportunity to pick up points against the teams around them.
A score draw could be the likeliest outcome in this one.
Score Prediction: Southampton 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Southampton vs Nottingham Forest Lineups
Southampton vs Nottingham Forest predicted lineups are brought to you by WhoScored.com
Southampton Predicted Lineup vs Nottingham Forest
McCarthy, Stephens, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Walker-Peters, Aribo, Downes, Smallbone, Sugawara, Brereton, Armstrong
Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup vs Southampton
Sels, Toffolo, Murillo, Boly, Williams, Sangaré, Yates, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Elanga, Wood
Southampton vs Nottingham Forest Team News
- Gavin Bazunu will remain sidelined with an Achilles injury until early 2025.
- Southampton look set to sign Feyenoord's Justin Bijlow as their new first-choice goalkeeper, though the Dutchman won't be ready to start here in any case.
- Russell Martin will likely remain unchanged from the opening day, after an encouraging performance against Newcastle.
- Danilo suffered a broken ankle inside 15 minutes of last weekend's season opener against Bournemouth, and will be set for a spell on the sidelines.
Southampton vs Nottingham Forest Odds
| Result | Best Odds | Implied Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 8/5 | 38% |
| Draw | 12/5 | 29% |
| Nottingham Forest | 15/8 | 35% |
Southampton vs Nottingham Forest Bet Builder Tips
Bet Builder: Southampton To Win, Both Teams To Score, Over 10.5 Corners & Over 1.5 Shots For Will Smallbone @ 18/1 with BetMGM at the time of publishing.
Southampton were unable to make the man advantage pay away to Newcastle last weekend but they did create plenty of chances. They ended the game with xG of 1.77 and should have some success going forward here.
Russel Martin’s side scored the third most goals in the Championship last season with an average of 1.86 but they also conceded an average of 1.31 goals per game. There were seven goals the last time they faced Nottingham Forest so we should see goals once again.
Forest’s Premier League away games under Nuno Espirito Santo have seen an average of 10.9 corers. There were 15 corners in Southampton’s first game back in the top tier of English football.
Will Smallbone had four shots from midfield in the Saints’ last game and won’t be afraid to let fly here. He averaged 1.75 shots per 90 minutes in the last year.
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