Southampton out to avoid unwanted club record in Leicester City clash

Southampton will be seeking to avoid an unwanted club record when they welcome Leicester City to St Mary’s for a Premier League clash on Saturday.

The Saints have endured a difficult 2022-23 campaign in the Premier League, with Ruben Selles the latest manager tasked with steering the club away from danger following the dismissals of Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Jones earlier this season.

Selles led Southampton to an impressive 1-0 away victory against Chelsea while in interim charge, but since his appointment as permanent boss, they have suffered back-to-back defeats in two different competitions.

Indeed, the Saints were condemned to their 16th Premier League defeat of the season when they lost 1-0 away against fellow strugglers Leeds United last Saturday; the South-coast club remain at the foot of the table but have slipped four points adrift of safety.

Just four days later, Southampton were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline at home against League Two side Grimsby Town in the FA Cup fifth round.

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Selles will be hoping for a response from his players following Wednesday’s embarrassing defeat when they return to St Mary’s for a top-flight home encounter against Leicester on Saturday.

However, hopes of coming out on top against the Foxes could prove challenging as the Saints have struggled to grind out positive results in front of their own fans.

Southampton have only picked up a total of six points in 11 Premier League fixtures at St Mary’s so far this season, at least six fewer than any other team in the division.

The Saints have failed to win each of their last eight top-flight home matches and have lost all of their last five in the process, suffering defeat against Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Defeat against Leicester on Saturday would see Southampton lose six consecutive home league games for the first time in their 138-year history.

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Speaking at a press conference on Friday, via BBC Sport, about the club’s poor home form, Selles said: “We have been suffering with tactics and relations, rather than the pressure of being in front of our home fans.

“A lot of teams want to be invincible at home and we have been almost the complete opposite of that!”

The Saints can at least take confidence from their 2-1 away win at Leicester back in August, with Che Adams scoring a second-half brace to turn the game on its head.

Adams – who is Southampton’s top scorer so far this season with nine goals – has missed the last three games with an unspecified issue, but Selles has confirmed that the striker will return for Saturday’s match.

Centre-back Mohammed Salisu is also in contention to play after missing the last three matches with a knock, while Juan Larios is set to get some minutes under his belt for the club’s B team after a lengthy spell out with a hamstring injury.

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