Southampton vs. Brighton: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

It's tough to predict anything other than a Southampton defeat most weeks. The Saints have lost all of their last seven league games on home soil while Brighton have won three of their last four, losing just one of their last seven on the road. The Saints may well get on the scoresheet, but the points will likely leave with Brighton. Southampton 1-3 Brighton.

Southampton go in search of a sorely needed win this weekend as they take on Brighton in the Premier League.

• Date: 22/02/2025
• Kick-off time: 15:00
• Location: St Mary's Stadium, Southampton

Southampton currently sit rock bottom of the Premier League with nine points in 20 games. The Saints are having a miserable campaign in England's top tier and are well down the path towards relegation. At this point, Ivan Jurić will have half an eye on next season in the Championship, while those behind the scenes might be drawing up more detailed plans.

After the sacking of Russell Martin and the appointment of Jurić, Southampton's fortunes are yet to transform, so it remains to be seen whether or not Croatian is the man for the job long-term. It's hard to judge him based on the current circumstances given how tough the job was coming in, so it will be interesting to see how he fares in the final months of this season and the early months of next season.

Southampton have been really poor at both ends of the pitch, with the Saints scoring just 19 goals while conceding a whopping 57 times. With a team so short on quality all over the pitch, there is basically no foundation from which Jurić could build a strong side.

The Saints are mainly playing for pride now, and while Brighton are a strong team, they'll feel as though they can put up a respectable performance.

Brighton come into this game 10th in the Premier League with 37 points from 25 games. The Seagulls are having a decent season, but are probably slightly short of where they'd want to be. After a summer of fairly heavy investment, Brighton would have been hoping to make a run at Europe, and while that's still possible, they look short of the level of some of the sides above them.

Brighton have both scored and conceded 38 goals this season, showing they've been fairly solid at both ends of the pitch. A 10th place finish feels about right for them this season, and is likely around where they're going to finish.

They can certainly be pleased with the individual performances of a number of their players. Academy product Jack Hinshelwood is starting to make his mark as a midfielder, while his partner, Carlos Baleba, has been magnificent and will likely be a transfer target for a few big clubs in the summer. Summer Georginio Rutter has also shown some very promising flashes, and could turn out to be a big player in the future.

This is a great chance for Brighton to claim a big three points here, and if they don't manage to win, it would mark a very poor result fr the Seagullls.

This game will not be televised live in the UK, but full radio coverage will be provided by BBC Radio Solent.

Southampton Team News:

Southampton will be without Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Adam Lallana, Ross Stewart, Jack Stephens, Ryan Fraser and Juan Larios, all of whom are out injured.

After a defeat last time out, a change or two is on the cards for this one.

Predicted lineup: Ramsdale; Bree, Bednarek, Wood; Walker-Peters, Ugochukwu, Aribo, Welington; Fernandes; Onuachu, Sulemana.

Brighton Team News:

Brighton are coming into this game unable to call upon the services of Lewis Dunk, Pervis Estupiñán, James Milner, Jason Steele, Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Igor Julio.

After a commanding win last time out, the Seagulls could name the same starting XI for the second week running.

Predicted lineup: Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Veltman, Lamptey; Baleba, Hinshelwood; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck.

Southampton:

Southampton enter this game with one win and four defeats from their last five games. At the weekend, the Saints were firmly outmatched by Bournemouth, who subjected them to a 1-3 defeat.

Before that, Southampton lost 0-1 to Burnley in the FA Cup, which came after a 2-1 win over Ipswich Town, thanks to goals from Joe Aribo and Paul Onuachu, and a 1-3 loss to Newcastle United.

Those results followed a 3-2 loss to Nottingham Forest, where late goals from Jan Bednarek and Onuachu could not prevent a defeat.

Brighton:

Brighton's form reads more positively, with the Seagulls winning three and losing two of their last five games. Fabian Hürzeler's men are fresh off the back of a league and FA Cup doubleheader, where after beating the Blues 2-1 in the cup through goals from Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma, another goal from Mitoma and a brace from Yankuba Minteh led to a thumping 3-0 win over Chelsea in the league at the weekend.

Prior to that, Brighton were utterly trounced 7-0 by Nottingham Forest, a result that was preceded by a 0-1 loss to Everton and a 3-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, courtesy of goals from Minteh, Mitoma and Rutter.

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