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TEAM NEWS
Wolves will be without forward Hwang Hee-chan, who pulled his hamstring during the 3-0 win over Liverpool. Mario Lemina hobbled off in that game and is also being monitored, while Pedro Neto could make his comeback from an ankle ligament injury. New signing Joao Gomes might be involved for the first time but one or two other unnamed players will have their fitness assessed.
Southampton pair Kyle Walker-Peters and Stuart Armstrong are back in training after injuries but Saturday’s game may come too soon for them. Juan Larios, who has been absent since November, is also nearing a return.
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JULEN LOPETEGUI
Pedro Neto is in contention to make his first appearance since October but Lopetegui said Wolves “will have to be careful with him”. However, Hwang Hee-chan faces five months on the sidelines.
There will be a late check on the fitness of Mario Lemina to face his former club: “I don’t know if he will be 100%. We will take the decision tomorrow morning. He is important for us – he knows the Premier League and is helping us improve.”
Lopetegui said he is trying to encourage flexibility in his squad: “From the first minute we arrived here, we have tried to be competitive and have high demands. Good players have to be used to play in different positions. We want them to understand why we do different exercises and have different gameplans.”
On under-pressure counterpart Nathan Jones: “He is a very good coach. He has set up a good, aggressive team with a very clear idea. The issue for football managers is that we have to win matches.”
On a potentially negative atmosphere at St Mary’s, Lopetegui said: “I have seen their matches and they have played in a very good way. Sometimes you don’t win, but the most important thing is our behaviour in different environments. We have to be ready to compete.”
MATCH FACTS & STATS
Head-to-head
- Wolves are on a run of four consecutive Premier League victories against Southampton and are unbeaten in seven meetings. Their longest Premier League streak without defeat against another team is eight versus Newcastle United between 2012-21.
- The Black Country side could register four successive top-flight away wins versus the same opponent since 1968 against Stoke.
- Southampton’s solitary league victory over Wolves in their past 13 attempts was by 3-1 at home in April 2019 (D4, L8).
Southampton
- Southampton have lost eight of their past nine league matches, including six of seven under Nathan Jones.
- Their home record of one win and six points this season is the worst in the Premier League.
- Saints can equal the club record of five successive home league defeats, set in 1947 and matched from April to August 1998 in the top flight.
- Southampton are the only Premier League team not to have kept a clean sheet at home in 2022-23. They have kept just one clean sheet in their last 27 league games home and away.
- They have conceded 10 headed goals in the league this season – more than any other team.
- James Ward-Prowse has scored all four of Southampton’s league goals since the World Cup.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Wolves have earned 10 points from their six league matches under Julen Lopetegui, as many as they did in their first 15 games this season.
- Lopetegui’s side can win consecutive Premier League fixtures for the first time since March last year.
- They lost their next league game after each of their previous six top-flight wins.
- Wolves’ two victories in their past 17 Premier League away matches both came at Everton.
- They remain the lowest goalscorers in the division this season with 15 goals; 20% of those came in their 3-0 win against Liverpool last time out.
- Raul Jimenez has gone 15 Premier League appearances without a goal, his longest drought in England.
- Mario Lemina made 46 Premier League appearances for Southampton between 2017-19.
MATCH INFO
The match kicks off at 3pm on Saturday 11th February at St Mary’s Stadium. The match is not broadcast live on TV in the UK