SOUTHAMPTON resume their battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League when they meet south coast rivals Bournemouth at St Mary's on Thursday night.
The Saints suffered late heartbreak last weekend when they let a 3-1 lead slip to draw 3-3 away at league leaders Arsenal.
While Southampton will take confidence from their Emirates showing, they are running out of time in their bid to preserve their top-flight status.
Rubén Sellés' side remain rock-bottom and four points from safety and are therefore fast approaching the last chance saloon in terms of their survival bid.
As for Bournemouth, they missed a chance to take a big step towards Premier League safety when falling to a heavy 4-0 defeat at home to West ham on Sunday.
Gary O'Neil's side still have a five point buffer between themselves and the bottom-three so a positive result here could prove pivotal in their efforts to avoid falling out of the top-flight trapdoor.
Outright Betting
Despite failing to win any of their last seven Premier League home games, Southampton head into this crunch clash as 5/4 favourites with William Hill.
Bournemouth have bagged maximum points from each of their last two top-flight road trips but another Cherries success here has been chalked up at 11/5 (Bet 365) while a share of the south coast spoils can be backed at 9/4 (BetVictor).
Betting Angles
This is likely to be a competitive affair with it being a relegation six-pointer between two local rivals and I'm happy to back both nets to bugle at 17/20 (UniBet).
As already alluded to, Southampton will have to go for the jugular at some point during this pivotal showdown given that they are peering ever more perilously over the Premier League's edge.
The Saints certainly appear to have upped their attacking output under Rubén Sellés' watch, having netted in recent outings against the likes of Arsenal, Man City and Tottenham – all of which saw BTTS bank
In fact, Both Teams to Score has been a winning a bet in 10 of the hosts' 16 league outings at St Mary's this season so far and there is plenty of scope for a repeat here given that Bournemouth have scored in four of their last five top-flight road trips.
What's more, these two sides are amongst the lowest in the division when it comes to keeping clean sheets, with the pair managing just 11 shutouts between them in their combined 64 top-flight contests this term to date.
With all things considered, backing each team to oblige at St Mary's on Thursday night holds plenty of appeal at 17/20 with UniBet.
Given what's at stake here, I'll also combine each team to see over zero cards and over three match cards at 20/23 (Bet 365).
This Bet Builder would have paid out in Southampton's last two league games and I see no reason to oppose a repeat here in a game loaded with relegation jeopardy.
This English Premier League match between Southampton and AFC Bournemouth will be played on Apr 27, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs AFC Bournemouth prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
