SO SAD: professional sport pundit Alan Shearer” publicly ridicule McKenna Ipswich next fixture with Southampton” as he clearly favours one team with huge 3point ahead of a really aggressive crunch….
Tomorrow afternoon, Southampton takes on Ipswich Town at St. Mary’s as both teams aim to win their first Premier League game at the fifth attempt. BBC Sport Pundit Alan Shearer believes the away team will pull off the elusive victory.
The Saints have endured a difficult start to the campaign, suffering four defeats from their opening four league games, although they did manage to scrape past Everton on penalties in mid-week in the EFL Cup. Meanwhile, fellow newly promoted side Ipswich have fared marginally better than their counterparts, securing well-earned draws against Fulham and Brighton after suffering defeats against Liverpool and Manchester City.
In what is shaping up as an early season relegation ‘six-pointer’ and fascinating encounter, Russell Martin and Kieran McKenna will be desperate for their teams to get off the mark in the win column.
Shearer: Southampton Will Struggle This Season
With neither side fancied to retain their Premier League status for next season, games against other teams expected to be lingering toward the bottom of the table come May are pivotal. The south coast outfit have been given a ‘1,000,000% chance’ of being relegated in the media, while the Tractor Boys are enjoying their first top flight campaign since the 2001/02 season, so expectations aren’t high.
Writing in his Premier League predictions for this weekend for the Metro, the former Saints striker tipped the away side to take all three points at St. Mary’s:
‘This game is very much like Leicester v Everton, huge for both teams. Out of the promoted teams, I think Ipswich have probably given themselves the best chance of survival, and I’ve not liked what I’ve seen from Southampton in front of goal. They’ve had a lot of possession, a lot of chances and missed the penalty against Man United. They were impressive for 30 minutes, but missing the penalty was a game changer.
‘When you have chances against any club at Premier League level, they’re few and far between, especially when you’re a newly promoted team, so you have to take them. It was a weird situation because Brereton-Diaz has taken and scored nine penalties, yet Cameron Archer has never scored a penalty, and he was given the task of taking it. Southampton will struggle this season because of a lack of goals.
‘Away win.’
| Managerial Record Statistical Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stat | Martin | McKenna |
| Matches Managed | 239 | 136 |
| Wins | 99 | 76 |
| Draws | 54 | 37 |
| Losses | 86 | 23 |
| Win Percentage | 41% | 56% |
