Southampton v Norwich predictions: Saints can keep struggling visitors quiet

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Southampton v Norwich in the Premier League on Friday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 8pm Friday

Best bets

Southampton to win & under 3.5 goals
2pts 13-10 Coral, Ladbrokes

Stuart Armstrong to score at any time
1pt 9-2 general

Team news

Southampton
Lyanco, Alex McCarthy and Nathan Tella are sidelined and there are doubts over Romain Perraud and Nathan Redmond.

Norwich
The Canaries are set to be missing Lukas Rupp, Adam Idah, Tim Krul, Jacob Sorensen and Andrew Omobamidele.

Match preview

Dean Smith has had mixed fortunes against Southampton in the Premier League this season and his Norwich side may find themselves outclassed on a tough trip to St Mary's on Friday.

Smith's last visit to the ground, on November 5, proved to be his final fixture as Aston Villa manager as a 1-0 defeat, Villa's fifth in a row, cost him his job.

Just a couple of weeks later, however, he got the better of Ralph Hasenhuttl's Saints in his first game as Norwich boss as Grant Hanley's 79th-minute header gave the Canaries a 2-1 win at Carrow Road.

That debut has proved to be something of a false dawn and, despite some improved performances, Norwich arrive on the south coast bottom of the table and five points from safety.

They briefly threatened to pull off a glorious giant-killing act at Anfield last weekend, taking the lead against Liverpool early in the second half before slipping to a 3-1 defeat.

Remarkably, the loss at Anfield and the home win over Southampton were the only two of Norwich's 13 matches against the current top ten in which they found the net.

They lost nine of the other 11, drawing 0-0 at home with Wolves and Brighton, and they may struggle against a Saints side who look well worth their place in the top half.

Hasenhuttl's men have lost only one of their 12 home matches in the league this season and their first three outings at St Mary's in 2022 yielded a 4-1 win over Brentford, a 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City and a 2-0 victory against Everton last weekend.

That win featured Southampton's first league clean sheet since the 1-0 success against Smith's Villa in the first week of November and they should fancy their chances of another shutout against Norwich, who have scored only 15 goals in 25 league games.

They were grateful for a hefty deflection which aided Milot Rashica's strike against Liverpool but Southampton have far more goal threats and are worth backing to win a game that may still be low on scoring action.

Che Adams and Chelsea loanee Armando Broja are a lively front two and James Ward-Prowse's high-quality set-pieces are a crucial part of their attacking plans.

Scotland international Stuart Armstrong ended his goal drought by scoring the opener against Everton last time out and is worth backing to get on the scoresheet against the relegation favourites.

Armstrong, playing in an advanced midfield role, took his goal well against the Toffees and also had some good chances in Southampton's previous game, an impressive 1-1 draw at Manchester United.

The former Celtic man had four shots at goal at Old Trafford, following on from the four he had in the 3-2 win at Tottenham, and he should be full of confidence after Saturday's strike.

Key stat

Norwich have lost seven of their 12 away league matches to nil this season.

Inside info

Southampton

Penalty taker James Ward-Prowse
Free-kick wizardJames Ward-Prowse
Set-piece aerial threat Jan Bednarek
Card magnetMohammed Salisu

Norwich

Penalty taker Teemu Pukki
Free-kick wizard Milot Rashica
Set-piece aerial threat Grant Hanley
Card magnet Brandon Williams

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