The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 1-1 draw away to Coventry City in the mid-week, while the Riversiders got the better of Bristol City 2-1 last time out.
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Southampton will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the EFL Championship to 14 games when they play host to Blackburn Rovers at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday. The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 1-1 draw away to Coventry City in the mid-week, while the Riversiders got the better of Bristol City 2-1 last time out. The Saints are currently occupying fourth spot in the English second tier standings, having collected 39 points from 21 games, 12 adrift of the top two, while the visitors are sitting at the ninth position, with 31 points to their name, just two shy of the playoffs.
Rovers ready 🤳 pic.twitter.com/A3NCQoJluP
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 15, 2023
Southampton have recorded 11 wins, six draws and five defeats from 21 league games this season. Their last success came against Cardiff City earlier this month thanks to Adam Armstrong’s early brace. But the Saints then recorded back-to-back 1-1 draw against the likes of Watford and Coventry. Russell Martin’s side came from behind to earn a point away to the Sky Blues courtesy of Samuel Edozie’s equaslizer seven minutes into the hour mark. With three draws in five matches, Southampton are now 12 points adrift of second-placed Ipswich side in the race for an automatic promotion. Meanwhile, Martin will be delighted by the fact that his side have not conceded more than once in any of their last eight games, but the Saints have also not scored more than twice in their most recent seven outings.
Blackburn, on the other hand avoided a third successive defeat in the EFL Championship courtesy of getting the better of Bristol City on Tuesday night. After back-to-back losses against the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United, the Riversiders secured all three points against the Robins thanks to Arnor Sigurdsson’s 35th-minute opener and Scott Wharton’s effort seven minutes into the second-half. It was their tenth second tier victory of the season, while Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side have also lost ten league games so far. The Rovers have won four of their last five away games in the Championship, their lone defeat in the period came against Sheffield Wednesday in their most recent on the road earlier this month.
Southampton probable starting lineup: Bazunu, Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Manning, Charles, Smallbone, S. Armstrong, Edozie, Fraser, A. Armstrong
Blackburn Rovers probable starting lineup: Wahlstedt, Brittain, Carter, S. Wharton, Pickering, Tronstad, A. Wharton, Moran, Sigurdsson, Szmodics, Leonard
Southampton
| Opponents | Score |
| Coventry | 1-1 (D) |
| Watford | 1-1 (D) |
| Cardiff | 2-0 (W) |
| Bristol City | 1-0 (W) |
| Huddersfield | 1-1 (D) |
Blackburn Rovers
| Opponents | Score |
| Bristol City | 2-1 (W) |
| Leeds | 0-2 (L) |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 3-1 (L) |
| Birmingham | 4-2 (W) |
| Stoke | 0-3 (W) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Blackburn beat Southampton | 3-0 |
| Southampton beat Blackburn | 3-2 |
| Blackburn draw Southampton | 1-1 |
| Blackburn draw Southampton | 1-0 |
| Blackburn beat Southampton | 1-0 |
The EFL Championship fixture between Southampton and Blackburn Rovers will take place at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday at 8:30 pm IST.
| Southampton vs Blackburn | Key Details |
| Date | December 16 |
| Venue | St Mary’s Stadium |
| Kickoff time in UK | 3:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 8:30 pm |
Football fans in the United States can catch the live action via ESPN network.
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