Stoke vs Southampton prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-10-02 19:00.
After finishing between 14th and 16th over their past five Championship seasons since dropping down from the Premier League, it’s perhaps not a surprise to find Stoke City in a similar position after nine matches this season (W3, D1, L5). But a 3-2 win against Bristol City at the weekend pushed them up the standings when 18-year-old Nathan Lowe’s first senior goal for the club proved to be the late winner.
Further improvement will be needed on home soil if the Potters are to avoid a potential relegation scrap this campaign. That’s because Alex Neil’s side lost six of their prior eight league outings at the Bet365 Stadium and have kept just one clean sheet in that run. Looking further back, they can at least draw some inspiration from their recent overall record against upcoming Southampton, in which they lost just three of the past 14 H2Hs (W5, D6).
The visitors had lost four consecutive Championship games during a miserable September before a first-half blitz helped them to down Leeds United 3-1 at the weekend. Manager Russell Martin hailed that win as a “huge moment” in their season and one that he will hope can reignite the south coast club’s promotion push following their Premier League relegation last season.
The fact that their first meeting with Stoke since 2017/18 falls during a midweek matchday won’t exactly come as a blessing for the Saints when considering that they lost all four midweek games this calendar year without even scoring a goal. In addition to ending their midweek struggles, Southampton will also be looking to avoid unwanted history here as they haven’t lost three away league matches in succession outside of the top-flight since August 2009, a record that is under threat after losing at Sunderland (5-0) and Middlesbrough (2-1).
Key battle: Stoke will be hoping that André Vidigal is fit for this match given that he’s scored four goals in five league outings this season. Adam Armstrong will be looking to upstage him here, for the Southampton striker has netted seven league goals this season including a brace in his previous fixture.
Hot stat: A joint-high seven of Southampton’s nine Championship games this season saw both teams score on the day.