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Key Information:
Date/time: 12/8/2018, 13:30 (UK), 08:30 ET, 04:30 PT (USA)
Venue: St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, UK
Official: Graham Scott
TV: Sky Sports (UK), NBC Sports Gold (USA) and check out LiveSoccerTV for alternatives.
Streaming: Sky Go (UK), NBC Sports (USA)
Radio:
The Premier League is back, and Southampton manager Mark Hughes will be hoping his side fares a lot better this season than 2017/18’s nail-biting campaign, which saw the Saints barely survive relegation from the top tier of English football.
Today’s opponents is Burnley, who under Sean Dyche enjoyed a great season in 2017/18, and are enjoying the Europe League qualification rounds.
Saints have no injury concerns, with deadline day signing Danny Ings likely to feature against his former club.
Cedric is likely in contention to feature, having recovered from illness.
Burnley could be missing striker Chris Wood, who missed Thursday’s Europa League game in Turkey.
Goalkeeper Nick Pope remains injured, but Burnley now have the pick of Joe Hart or Tom Heaton in goal.
Stats Zone (via BBC Sport):
Head-to-head
- Southampton have won two of their six Premier League meetings with Burnley (D1, L3).
- However, the Saints have only lost two of their previous 16 home league meetings with Burnley (W8, D6).
- The last three league clashes have produced just four goals, with only one of those coming for Southampton.
Southampton
- Southampton have recorded just one win in their last 11 home league games (D5, L5).
- The Saints have only won the opening fixture twice in 19 Premier League seasons (D9, L8).
- They have not started a top-flight season with a home win since 1988-89 - a 4-0 victory over West Ham at The Dell.
- Charlie Austin has four goals in his last four Premier League games against Burnley.
- Mark Hughes has recorded just one win in his last six league matches against The Clarets (D2, L3), a 2-0 victory with Stoke in December 2016.
Burnley
- The Clarets could win their opening match in consecutive top-flight seasons for the first time since 1967.
- They lost just five away games in the last Premier League campaign (W7, D7), earning 52% of their points on the road.
- Ashley Barnes could become the first player to make 100 Premier League appearances for Burnley.
Betting Odds:
Bet 365: Southampton: 17/20 - Draw: 5/2 - Burnley: 4/1
Bet Victor: Southampton: 17/20 - Draw: 12/5 - Burnley: 17/4
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