Southampton host Swansea City in the Premier League on Saturday as Ronald Koeman looks to find a second win for the club after a rather poor start to the new domestic season.
The travelling Swans, meanwhile, will be hoping to build from a goalless draw against Everton last time out in order to push further on from seventh in the table.
The Saints go into Saturday's game knowing that they still need to kickstart their season after recording just one win in six Premier League games this term. Whereas Swansea have also been a little up and down thus far, despite producing some standout performances to beat Manchester United and earn a draw away at Chelsea.
In the early stages of last weekend's clash with Manchester United, it looked as though the tide might be slowly turning as the home side put the United defence under real strain. However, they eventually capitulated to the lose the game through what Koeman described as a 'lack of belief'.
Despite the loss, what will have pleased the Southampton manager was his team's threat down the flanks and the return to form of Graziano Pelle, while Sadio Mane also looked particularly menacing.
The Swans come into this game having just been knocked out of the League Cup by Hull City, but they do have a hard-fought draw against Everton to look back on as their last fixture in the league.
Monk will be hoping that both Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew can continue their standout form into the weekend, with the frontmen scoring four and three goals so far respectively. The Welsh side will also be hoping to continue with their strong showings at the back, which have left them ranked sixth in the league in terms best defensive performances.
What the managers say:
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman: "Like us, Swansea in my opinion is an example of how you have to do the football business.
"They have a very good coach and manager, they try to play attractive football. They lost some good players, signed some other good ones and are still fighting for a high position in the table.
"We can compare Swansea to our team and that's maybe the reason it's a difficult game for both teams."
Swansea manager Garry Monk: "The way I am getting asked things is as if we are reaching for the panic button or something. We have only lost one game in the Premier League, let's not forget that."I think these questions [about Swansea's form] stem from the Watford performance, which we were disappointed with and didn't see coming.
"But the nature of this sport is that you get setbacks. What is important is you react to them well and we did that against Everton to get a good point."
Team News:
Southampton will be sweating on the fitness of frontman Pelle, but he is likely to recover in time from a slight knock in order to retain a starting spot in attack.
In defence, Ryan Bertrand could make a return to the side as he begins to approach a return to full fitness, while it is expected that Cedric Soares will replace Maya Yoshida at right-back following the defeat to United.
Forster, Clasie and Gardos all remain out with more serious injuries.
As for the visitors, Monk should have a full squad of players to pick from if Franck Tabanou is able to shake of the lasting effects of the cramp he picked up midweek in the League Cup.
Gomis will likely continue as the club's lone striker, while further support is to come from a creative three of Ayew, Jefferson Montero and Gylfi Sigurosson from a little deeper.
Expected XI
Southampton
Stekelenburg
Targett
Dijk
Fonte
Soares
Wanyama
Davis
Tadic
Ward-Prowse
Mane
Pelle
Targett
Dijk
Fonte
Soares
Wanyama
Davis
Tadic
Ward-Prowse
Mane
Pelle
Swansea City
Fabianski
Taylor
Williams
Fernandez
Naughton
Shelvey
Cork
Montero
Sigurdsson
Ayew
Gomis
Taylor
Williams
Fernandez
Naughton
Shelvey
Cork
Montero
Sigurdsson
Ayew
Gomis
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