7 min: Walker-Peters ambles in from the right, unchallenged until he reaches the edge of the box. He shoots. Deflected. Over. And from the corner, Romeu should give Saints the lead. He wins a header ten yards out and aims for the top right. Inches wide.
5 min: Cornet rattles into Walker-Peters on the right, giving Ward-Prowse his first opportunity of the evening to wave his set-piece wand. He swings one in. Tarkowski heads clear, and McNeil should launch a counter, but blooters upfield to nobody in particular. He has the good grace to grimace.
4 min: There’s a rare old atmosphere at Turf Moor. The home fans are giving it some repetitive motorik rhythm. Very catchy.
2 min: Forster takes his sweet time over a clearance and is nearly Sadio Mané-d by Rodriguez. The keeper evades the block tackle just in time.
38 seconds: Forster races out of his area to blooter clear, only just getting there in time ahead of Rodriguez. A fast start to this game all right.
19 seconds: Walker-Peters makes his way down the right and hits a cross-cum-shot that only just clears the crossbar. Pope had it covered.
Saints get the ball rolling … but only after a knee is taken. Warm applause greets the gesture. There’s no room for racism. “As an Everton supporter, I’m well aware that their fate is in their own hands, what with a four-point cushion and all,” begins Matt Burtz. “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want Southampton to win this game handily. I wish no ill will on Burnley, but I also don’t fancy trips to Wigan and Rotherham next season.”
The teams are out! Burnley are in their famous old claret, forcing Saints into second-choice yellow and blue. A warm welcome for both teams. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes, which you can while away by reminding yourself what happened earlier in the season when the teams met at St Mary’s.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl talks to Sky. “It is very tight in the middle of the table and with a few wins you can achieve a lot. This is our goal for the last games. There are four teams around us, and this is a very important game.”
Burnley caretaker Mike Jackson speaks to Sky. “We spoke about this being an opportunity. You can’t see them as burdens. They’re a challenge. These guys face challenges all the time, they’ve done it all their careers, it’s just the next one. It was really good [at West Ham]. Before the game, the atmosphere and togetherness, plus the good signs we saw in the game, was really positive. Questions have been asked of that group, but you don’t lose character. They’ve got that in spades, and we’ll look for that tonight, the same again.”
There’s been plenty of Dyche-related chat this week, for obvious reasons. So while the subject of Burnley managers is a hot topic [MBM writer inserts large jemmy into page, working away furiously with brazen intent] why not enjoy this old Joy of Six, which features John Haworth and Harry Potts, the only two men to bring the league title to Turf Moor? There’s still half an hour until kick-off, is all.
Burnley make two changes to the starting XI named for the 1-1 draw with West Ham United last Sunday. Connor Roberts and Josh Brownhill take the places of Matt Lowton, who drops to the bench, and the stricken Ashley Westwood.
Southampton beat Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday and so name an unchanged side. While Burnley have their relegation worries, Saints can leap from 13th to ninth, past Brentford, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City, with a victory tonight.
The teams
Burnley: Pope, Roberts, Collins, Tarkowski, Taylor, McNeil, Brownhill, Cork, Cornet,…
Read More: Burnley v Southampton: Premier League – live! | Premier League