Southampton vs. Brighton and Hove Albion – EPL March 14, 2021

Neither set of fans regard this as a derby of any kind, but there is a lot at stake on Sunday as Southampton and Brighton come together at the St Mary’s Stadium.

The home side should be safe from any real relegation worries, but Brighton now finds itself level on points with Fulham and could drop into the bottom three by the end of the weekend.

BetOnline has this game rightly close to call but I really cannot understand how Southampton is offered as the underdog to win at home. Brighton has been struggling for a long time and only sits above the drop zone on goal difference at the moment. I would have more expected to see the prices for the home and away wins reversed here.

It was always going to be a tough task for Southampton to go to the Etihad on Wednesday and come away with anything. The 5-2 defeat keeps the goals conceded column ticking over but Ralph Hasenhuttl needs to take any positive he can at the moment – so the goals from Ward-Prowse and Adams should be celebrated. Unfortunately, Southampton’s defense was fairly woeful once again.

The drop in form since the start of the year has been nothing but shocking though – and not all of it can be put down to the extensive injury and illness lists at the club. Confidence has taken a real hit with high-profile defeats and now Hasenhuttl will have to do without Ings again this weekend.

Graham Potter has problems of his own at Brighton though. Performances have not been that bad on the whole, but his players are not making life easy for themselves by not being able to keep hold of a lead. The latest example was the home defeat to Leicester at the weekend, but it has been an ongoing problem all season.

But more worrying for Brighton now is the form of Fulham. The Cottagers have been able to pick up a good amount of points while the Seagulls have been unable to pull away from the bottom. There have been three defeats in a row now – and another crunch game against Newcastle coming up before the international break. There is no room for error now for Brighton.

Southampton has been mostly terrible since the start of the year but there still seems to be some belief at the club – and Hasenhuttl still has the support of the players on his side. I do think that the Saints will limp on until the end of the season, but the odds for the home win here seem too generous to pass up.