SOUTHAMPTON welcome Bournemouth to St Mary's on Friday night . Anthony Olsson (@Ant_olsson93) analyses the encounter.
Southampton v Bournemouth | Friday 20th September 2019, 20:00 | Sky Sports
Friday night football gives us a south coast derby as Southampton host Bournemouth at St Mary’s. The hosts come into the game unbeaten in their last three and they picked up a good win on the road at Sheffield United last time out. Bournemouth also picked up a good victory against Everton, but the Cherries have been inconsistent having lost their previous two.
The last match-up between these two was a thrilling 3-3 draw back in late April and draws have been a feature of this fixture with four stalemates in the duos last six meetings. In those six dust-ups, Both Teams To Score has landed on four occasions and it’s 4/6 (William Hill) for a repeat here.
I think with the style of the two teams, backing both to oblige is a good angle into the match. Southampton have conceded 18 shots per-game at home this season and have leaked in both home games. Meanwhile, Bournemouth have managed an average of 10 shots on the road and have also faced an average of 18 attempts. Its entirely likely that this game will have plenty of chances.
As I mentioned before, these two sides have played out four draws in six head-to-heads and I think it’s difficult to separate them again this time around. The draw is priced 11/4 (Blacktype) and I think it’s a good approcah with the recent history between these pair. Both teams are evenly matched on paper and they are locked in mid-table at this early stage.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth midfielder Jefferson Lerma is well known for finding his way into the referee’s notebook and he is priced at 6/4 to pick up a card in this match. I like the look of combining Lerma to be carded with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for Southampton. Hojbjerg picked up nine yellows in 31 games last season and this game could turn into a battle in midfield with some tasty tackles.
Best Bets
Southampton v Bournemouth – Draw (11/4 Blacktype)
Southampton v Bournemouth – Both Teams To Score (4/6 William Hill)
Southampton v Bournemouth – Jefferson Lerma and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to be carded (17/2 SkyBet)
