Bournemouth vs Southampton: Match preview, lineups, quotes, form, injuries and how to watch

When and where to watch Bournemouth vs Southampton

Bournemouth vs Southampton kicks off at 7.30pm on Wednesday 19 October.

You can catch all the action from the Vitality Stadium on Prime Video via BT TV. 

Bournemouth vs Southampton match preview

This south-coast derby pits two teams against each other in completely different form.

Bournemouth find themselves in mid-table after an unbelievable turn in fortunes since the sacking of Scott Parker and the arrival of Gary O’Neil.

They look much stronger at the back and full of energy up front, with some superb link up play on display between Dominic Solanke and Philip Billing.

Southampton on the other hand are falling fast. They find themselves in the relegation zone but a 1-1 draw against West Ham last time out will give them some hope.

Their big problem is scoring goals. They’re not consistent enough in front of goal but on their day are capable of beating most teams. They need a big performance from the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Che Adams and Adam Armstrong.

Defensively the Saints need to improve too. They’re the only club not to have kept a clean sheet in the Premier League this season. 

Bournemouth vs Southampton predicted lineups

Bournemouth: (4-2-3-1) Murara Neto; Fredericks, Mepham, Senesi, Smith, Cook, Lerma, Christie, Billing, Tavernier, Solanke.

Southampton: (4-2-3-1) Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Caleta-Car, Salisu, Perraud, Ward-Prowse, Maitland-Niles, Elyounoussi, Aribo, Adams, A Armstrong.

Bournemouth vs Southampton: Injuries and suspensions

Saints’ defender Armel Bella-Kotchap suffered a dislocated shoulder in their match against West Ham on Sunday.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl admitted “It’s a dislocated shoulder, it can be everything from playing on Wednesday to eight weeks.”

If the German doesn’t recover in time, Croatian defender Duje Caleta-Car is likely to step in.

Bournemouth go into this match without any new injury news to report.

Defender Jack Stephens is unavailable to play against his parent club, while Lloyd Kelly remains out with an ankle injury.

Midfielder Ben Pearson has been recovering from a knee injury sustained in Bournemouth’s 9-0 defeat to Liverpool and is close to a return to fitness. 

Bournemouth vs Southampton: Form guide

Bournemouth continued their amazing turnaround under interim boss Gary O’Neil with a 2-2 draw away to Fulham at the weekend.

The Cherries remain unbeaten since the former Premier League player took over at the end of August. He’s surely favourite to take on the position full-time now.

Bournemouth currently find themselves comfortably in mid-table and in current form, favourites to take three points against the Saints.

Southampton find themselves in the relegation zone after an abysmal run of form that saw them lose four in a row. They did however manage to stem the losses with a decent point against West Ham.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is under pressure to turn the club's fortunes around fast and climb up the table.

Southampton need to take something home from the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday. 

He said what?!

Bournemouth defender Ryan Fredericks on manager Gary O’Neil’s impact:

“He sets us up differently for every game and every game it seems to just fall into place. Everything he’s saying to us in meetings and in training is exactly probably like for like what’s exactly happening in the game.

“We don’t just see him as a stand-in manager, we see him as the gaffer and everyone treats him with respect, and he treats the lads with respect. He’s a good man-manager, a great coach, and hopefully he can stay for as long as possible.”

Find out what Ralph Hasenhuttl's non-negotiables are when it comes to managing Southampton > 

Bournemouth vs Southampton: Players to watch

With the help of a deflection and the referee, Romain Perraud notched his first Premier League goal for Southampton at the weekend. 

The Frenchman was lucky not to give away a penalty after wrestling with Tomas Soucek in the box, but his desire to drive forward and shoot from distance could be a big help for the Saints at the other end of the pitch. It's something Southampton's right-sided full-back Kyle Walker-Peters is also capable of.

Dominic Solanke scored at the weekend after just two minutes to give Bournemouth the lead over Fulham.

It was only his second goal of the season, but the striker has been an integral part of Bournemouth’s reinvigoration since the sacking of manager Scott Parker.

The ex-Liverpool and Chelsea man also has three assists to his name and has formed a deadly partnership with midfielder Philip Billing.

If the duo are able to link up against Southampton they’ll prove a real handful. Don’t be surprised if Solanke finds his name on the scoresheet again on Wednesday. 

Bournemouth vs Southampton: Key stats

• Promotion prey: Of the 12 clubs to have played 100+ Premier League games against promoted sides, Southampton have the lowest win rate (43%), winning 58 of their 134 meetings (D33 L43).

• Home comforts: Bournemouth have lost just one of their five Premier League home games this season (W2 D2). They’ve kept three clean sheets at home so far, with 75% of their goals conceded at the Vitality Stadium coming in that sole defeat (0-3 vs Arsenal).

• Wobbly on a Wednesday: Bournemouth have won just two of their 14 Premier League games on a Wednesday (D3 L9).

• Leaky defence: Southampton are the only side without a clean sheet in the Premier League this season. Overall, they’ve conceded in their last 16 Premier League games.

• Have a pop! Bournemouth have had fewer shots than any other side in the Premier League this season (71). However, their shot conversion rate of 14.1% is currently their highest in a single top-flight campaign.

• The O'Neil revolution: Bournemouth have yet to lose under caretaker manager Gary O’Neil (W2 D4) and if they avoid defeat in this match they will equal their longest unbeaten run in the Premier League (7 games in February 2018).