Southampton and Burnley aim to secure a place in the FA Cup last 16 as they meet in a fourth round clash on Saturday. The Saints have shown little topflight quality this season and with the Clarets impressing in the Championship, this looks to be closely fought encounter.
The Saints come into this clash with renewed hope after a 2-1 victory away at Ipswich Town thanks to goals from Joe Aribo and Paul Onuachu. This marked just their second win of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, highlighting their struggles this season.
In the FA Cup, they comfortably dispatched Swansea City 3-0 in the third round, with Tyler Dibling stealing the show with a brilliant brace. Now, Ivan Juric will be looking to extend their strong cup form, having gone all the way to the quarter-finals in the League Cup.
Under Scott Parker’s leadership, Burnley continue to push for promotion as they sit second in the Championship table and are unbeaten in their last 19 matches in all competitions. A 3-1 extra-time victory over Reading in the previous round is among their results while they also beat Oxford United 1-0 in the Championship last weekend.
Defensively, Burnley have been rock-solid, conceding just nine goals all season while keeping an impressive 22 clean sheets. Their focus on being tight and compact often takes away from their attacking prowess and they have scored just once in their last four home matches.
How the bookies view it: Southampton with the edge
Southampton are considered favourites among the bookies, with a home win priced at 7/10 by BoyleSports. Burnley are seen as underdogs, with odds of 7/2 for a victory, while a draw is valued at 5/2 by BoyleSports.
Head-to-head: Evenly matched teams
Southampton and Burnley have claimed 12 wins each and 13 draws from 37 previous matches. However, the Clarets are unbeaten in nine of the last 11 meetings and claimed a 2-0 victory in the last fixture back in 2022, while the most recent clash at St Mary’s Stadium ended in a 2-2 draw.
Players to watch: Defensive Rock Egan-Riley
Conrad Egan-Riley has been a key figure in Burnley’s solid defense, helping them secure nine clean sheets in their last ten matches. Another shutout for the Clarets is priced at 10/3 by BoyleSports.
For Southampton, Jan Bednarek has been a mainstay over the years and with Burnley’s defensive setup limiting their attacking threat, he could have an effective game. The Polish centre-back can lead the Saints to a clean sheet at 6/5 on BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Southampton will once again be without striker Ross Stewart for this match and he remains their only injury concern heading into the game. Dibling, who made a return from injury at Ipswich, could feature in the starting lineup, while Yukinari Sugawara will also be pushing for a spot in the team.
Burnley will be without several key players like Luca Koleosho, Josh Brownhill, Nathan Redmond, Aaron Ramsey, and Jordan Beyer who are all sidelined due to injury. January signings Marcus Edwards and Jonjo Shelvey are likely to get a chance.
Southampton: Ramsdale; Bree, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Sugawara, Ugochukwu, Aribo, Walker-Peters; Dibling, Fernandes; Onuachu
Burnley: Hladký; Roberts, Egan-Riley, Worrall, Pires, Shelvey, Laurent; Edwards, Sarmiento, Benson; Flemming
Anything else catch the eye?
Burnley's strong defensive setup could pose a significant challenge to Southampton's attack. The Clarets have seen under 2.5 goals in their last four matches and a repeat is priced at 7/10 on BoyleSports.
There have been halftime draws in five of the last seven matches between Southampton and Burnley and a similar outcome is priced at 21/20 with BoyleSports. The Clarets are on a 19-match winning run and given their fine record against Southampton, the visitors could be backed to get a win or draw at 21/20 with Boylesports.
This FA Cup match between Southampton and Burnley will be played on Feb 8, 2025 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs Burnley prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
