Southampton are still waiting for their first victory of the 2021-22 Premier League season, but that does not tell the whole story, with the Saints putting in some impressive performances this term.
A record of four draws and three defeats from seven matches has seen Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side collect four points, holding Manchester United, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Manchester City, but they have lost their last two against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea.
Southampton’s position of 17th is far from ideal, but there is a lot of football to be played this season, and Hasenhuttl will have been encouraged by certain aspects of his team’s early-season performances.
The Saints have actually lost their last three games against Leeds in all competitions, though, including both Premier League meetings between the two teams last term, and they have not overcome the Whites on home soil since August 2011 in the second tier of English football.
The Hampshire-based side will view their next two matches against Leeds and Burnley as the perfect chance to put some points on the board, while they will then end the month with a clash against Watford.
Leeds, meanwhile, finally picked up their first Premier League win of the season before the international break, with Diego Llorente’s first-half effort seeing them record a 1-0 victory over Watford at Elland Road.
The Whites have won one, drawn three and lost three of their first seven matches of the campaign to collect six points, which has left them in 16th position in the table ahead of the next set of fixtures.
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It is not quite the start that Leeds would have had in mind considering their success last term, but they now have a run of winnable matches, facing Southampton, Wolves and Norwich City in their next three.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side scored five unanswered goals against the Saints in their two Premier League matches last term, including a 2-0 victory at St Mary’s, where Patrick Bamford and Tyler Roberts were on the scoresheet.
Leeds won 10 away games in the Premier League last term, meanwhile, and will certainly believe that their free-flowing football can cause Southampton problems once again, but there has also been a lot of space for teams to operate in against the Whites this term, suggesting that this should be an entertaining contest
