Tag: Southampton

Chelsea chasing surprising name for striker position, star defender to leave for China

Vincent Van Genechten

After returning from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 at home against Tottenham, Chelsea suffered a 3-2 away defeat to bottom team Sunderland last weekend. The Blues have been looking forward to next season for a couple of weeks, especially after the appointment of Antonio Conte as their next coach, and are looking to revamp their roster during the summer transfer window. One of Chelsea’s objectives is to add a new striker and Conte wants to bring Southampton’s Graziano Pelle to Stamford Bridge. He is willing to pay £8 million for…

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Tottenham vs Southampton – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

In their first match since seeing their hopes of a first English league title for 55 years bite the dust, Tottenham will now turn their attention towards making absolutely sure of second place and have a tricky game at home to Southampton on Sunday. Although they have just come up short, it has been a terrific season for Tottenham and under the inspired guidance of manager Mauricio Pochettino only look set to progress further. A sustained challenge for the title has been well beyond the expectations the club had back…

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Southampton to outmarch Liverpool for Serie A star winger

Vincent Van Genechten

According to Sky Sports (via Calciomercato), Southampton are ready to make a formal bid to sign Belgium international Dries Mertens from Napoli this summer. The 28-year-old has scored 11 goals and registered six assists in all competitions this season, while he was heavily linked with a move away from Italy in the summer after providing nine goals and ten assists last season. Both Liverpool and Southampton reportedly tried to sign the winger, but both Premier League clubs were unable to strike a deal with Napoli. However, Mertens has failed to sign…

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Southampton vs Man City – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

They may currently be involved in a highly intense Champions League semi-final, but Manchester City still have work to do domestically and their latest assignment is a tricky encounter away to Southampton. Ronald Koeman’s men still retain faint hopes of finishing in the top six as another very satisfactory season draws towards a close, and they were in the goals on their travels last time out as already relegated were beaten 4-2. The game saw Dusan Tadic net a brace as he continues to show signs of rediscovering his best form,…

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Manchester United considering shocking swap deal with Southampton

Vyom Chaudhary

Memphis Depay arrived amid much fanfare at Old Trafford in a £25 million deal from PSV Eindhoven last summer. However, the 22-year-old suffered failed miserably in his debut season in the Premier League and now, according to the reports, United are desperate to offload the player in the summer. United manager Louis Van Gaal has been pursuing Southampton star Sadio Mane for a long time now, and Daily Star has reported that the Red Devils are contemplating a swap deal involving Depay and Mane. Saints boss Ronald Koeman is said…

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Aston Villa vs Southampton – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

The inevitable demotion of Aston Villa has finally been confirmed with four matches to spare, and the first of those sees them take on a Southampton team that needs points to remain in contention for a European place. From a very early stage this season, there was little doubting Aston Villa’s fate as a squad with varying levels of experience has looked well below the standard required to compete in the Premier League. They have lacked intensity, application and indeed quality as a nine-game losing streak has underlined their inferiority,…

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Everton vs Southampton – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Everton will be determined to find a solution to their home struggles as they look for a first win in six Premier League games against Southampton, who still retain realistic hopes of a European place for next season. It is now nearly a month since Everton’s most recent Goodison Park failure, and in the intervening period they have managed to take two points from three away matches, which has seen them limp to the 40-point mark. On Wednesday they were able to withstand great pressure from Crystal Palace in order…

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Southampton vs Newcastle – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Newcastle United desperately need a win as they strive to gain the points that will propel them to Premier League survival, but there is still plenty at stake for opponents Southampton, who still have Europe in their sights. It was a frustrating afternoon for the Saints last time out as they had a lot of good possession and territory upon their visit to leaders Leicester City, but came away with nothing as the odd good chance was missed and two optimistic penalty claims fell on deaf ears, leaving manager Ronald…

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Twitter welcomes another Leicester win: “It’s happening!!!”

Vincent Van Genechten

Leicester City beat Southampton 1-0 on Sunday, going seven points clear on top of the Premier League table. Wes Morgan scored the Foxes only goal, who have now won five of their last six games with a 1-0 score. Twitter welcomed another win for Claudio Ranieri’s men, predicting they are now fairly certain to win the title: Stuff of Champions? Leicester 1-0 Southampton Palace 0-1 Leicester Leicester 1-0 Newcastle Watford 0-1 Leicester Leicester 1-0 Norwich — Paddy Power (@paddypower) 3 april 2016 The best story in sports continues….Leicester City beats…

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Chelsea have a surprise replacement in mind for Thibaut Courtois

Vincent Van Genechten

Thibaut Courtois has refused to state he’s going to stay at Chelsea after the current season ends. The Belgian goalkeeper also revealed he prefers playing with his country’s defence. “We’re still conceding too many goals, and that’s not entirely the defence’s fault, even though I prefer playing with Belgium’s back four”, he told RTBF, according to Goal. With the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona interested in the 23-year-old, the Blues put a world-record price tag of £73 million on their star goalkeeper in an attempt to ward off interest from the Spanish giants, according…

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Liverpool ridiculed on Twitter following their defeat to Southampton

Vyom Chaudhary

Liverpool were the “joke of the day” in the world of Twitter world on Sunday, as the Merseysiders suffered an embarrassing 3-2 defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium. Jurgen Klopp’s men were coasting comfortably with a 2-0 lead in the game before they decided to hit the “self-destruct” button in the second-half. Individual defensive errors from the Reds allowed the Saints to crawl back into the game in as they scored three second-half goals to claim all three points. Liverpool fans are well advised to avoid Twitter for a day or…

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Southampton vs Liverpool – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Two sides separated by only goal difference in the race to qualify for Europe for next season meet in a potential decisive clash at the St. Mary’s Stadium, as Southampton take on a Liverpool side that is gaining momentum. It was a big test for Southampton as they travelled to Stoke City last time out looking to win for the first time in four games, and they certainly appeared as though they meant business as their first half dominance was rewarded with two goals, both scored by Graziano Pelle. The…

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Premier League trio fighting for Dutch star striker

Vincent Van Genechten
dost wolfsburg

Newcastle, Southampton and Stoke are reportedly lining up bids for Wolfsburg striker Bas Dost. The 26-year-old is said to be valued at £15 million by the Bundesliga side, according to Sport Bild and as reported by Goal. Rumours have suggested that the 26-year-old is unhappy at the German club, and he suffered a broken foot during training in January, which has restricted his league appearances to just 16 and his league goals to seven this term. Newcastle, with new coach Rafa Benitez, are in search for a star striker in order…

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Stoke vs Southampton – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Stoke City will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run to five games on Saturday when they host Southampton, who they have only lost to once in seven previous Premier League meetings. It has been an impressive response from the Potters, who just weeks ago were being questioned in several quarters amid fears that their season could just fizzle out. Three successive wins and an impressive performance to earn a more than deserved draw at Chelsea last weekend have silenced those doubts and ensured that a record Premier League points haul…

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Southampton vs Sunderland – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

After moving out of the bottom three during the week, Sunderland will hope to maintain their run of encouraging performances when they face Southampton in a fixture where they suffered a humiliating 8-0 defeat last season. The hosts are striving to bounce back in this one after losing their last two matches, with the last of them being against South coast rivals Bournemouth on Tuesday. Aside from an early chance for Charlie Austin, they created little throughout and were never able to match the tenacity of their opponents, so manager…

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Bournemouth vs Southampton – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Bournemouth will be aiming to end a run of three successive home defeats in all competitions when they face rivals Southampton, whose run of six games unbeaten was brought to an end last time out. A draw away to mid-table Watford on Saturday was a decent result for Bournemouth as they continued to show enterprising form on their travels, but it could have been more as a couple of presentable second half chances were missed. The big positive of the afternoon, however, was the return of summer signing Max Gradel…

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Southampton vs Chelsea – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Two of the Premier League’s most in-form sides meet at the St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday as Southampton aim for a sixth win in seven games against Chelsea, who are unbeaten since the middle of December. There was little to choose between the sides in Southampton’s most recent outing away to Swansea City, but the restoration of their defensive resolve brought about by Fraser Forster’s return to fitness went a long way towards proving the difference, while it was Shane Long who made the telling contribution at the other end. The…

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Swansea vs Southampton – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Southampton will be aiming to collect their fifth win in six Premier League matches when they make the trip to South Wales to face Swansea City, who themselves have not lost in four outings. Aspects of Swansea’s performance in their 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace last weekend suggested that they are regaining the fluency and expression that has characterised much of their current stay in the Premier League. It was a shame from their point of view that their superiority over the piece was not reflected in the result,…

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Southampton vs West Ham – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Southampton will be looking to continue their strong run with a victory and a fifth consecutive clean sheet, but it will be far from straightforward up against another in-form side in West Ham United. The defensive improvement from the Saints of late has coincided with the return of Fraser Forster in goal following a long-term injury, and his worth to the club was very much in evidence last time out at Arsenal, where a string of terrific saves kept out a second half onslaught from their opponents and preserved a point…

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Arsenal fans not happy with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s pre-game antics

Vyom Chaudhary

It was yet another frustrating result for Arsenal as they were held to a goalless draw by Southampton on Tuesday night. The sombre mood among the Arsenal fans was clearly not helped when the club’s official Twitter account posted a video of midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain dancing in the tunnel before heading out to warm-up. Heading out for the warm up. #AFCvSFC pic.twitter.com/DhJupSCpUP — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) February 2, 2016 Some of the fans clearly didn’t like his approach: @Arsenal Ox needs to pipe down smh. Why’s he dancing in the…

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Arsenal vs Southampton – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Arsenal will be determined to reignite their title challenge with a first win in four Premier League games as they take on a Southampton side that is back on song after three straight victories. Even before Per Mertesacker saw red for his desperate challenge on eventual match-winner Diego Costa, Arsenal had made a struggling start against reigning champions Chelsea and had found it difficult to contain the fluent attacking play of their opponents. The decisive goal came shortly after, with Arsene Wenger’s decision to sacrifice leading scorer Olivier Giroud being…

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Southampton make a last-minute move for Arsenal star

Vyom Chaudhary

Southampton have made a last-minute approach to sign Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a loan move, according to the latest reports. The Sun claims that the Saints manager Ronald Koeman is interested in bringing the winger to St. Mary’s Stadium and has approached the Gunners regarding a potential loan deal. The England international has struggled to find form for the Gunners this season and has fallen behind Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell in the pecking order. He has started only seven league games for the North London club this season…

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Fans demand for Louis Van Gaal’s head

Vyom Chaudhary

Following a dreamy victory at Anfield last week, Louis Van Gaal was jolted back to the reality today. Southampton’s Charlie Austin scored a late header to inflict a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford. The mood was boiling at the Theatre of Dreams as United fans booed their team on more than one occasion. Even Twitter was over flooded with people asking for the head of the Dutch manager. Van Gaal Be Like pic.twitter.com/aVP8xysQei — Troll Football (@TrollFootball) January 23, 2016 Still no goals at Old Trafford. Louis van…

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Man Utd vs Southampton – Premier League preview and team news

Stephen Donovan

Manchester United will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to 2016 with victory over a mid-table Southampton side that has not won away from home since the first week of November. Wayne Rooney’s elusive first goal at Anfield for 11 years did not just hand Man Utd a very sweet three point haul; it may have breathed new life into their season. They were far from firing on all cylinders against arch rivals Liverpool, but they dealt with what came their way with reasonable comfort before striking with their only…

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West Ham boss Slaven Bilic comes clean on Daniel Sturridge rumours

Vyom Chaudhary

Liverpool’s injury-plagued striker Daniel Sturridge was linked with a shock move to West Ham a couple of days ago. However, when asked about the rumours in a press conference, Hammers manager Slaven Bilic vehemently denied the rumours, as reported by Goal. “That is only a rumour and there is nothing behind it,” Bilic said. “I am not talking about who we want – Daniel Sturridge is a big player and a big name – but that is only paper talk.” And when he was asked whether he would be interested in the…

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