There's a new era at St. Mary's, and Nathan Jones' first Premier League test in front of the home supporters comes courtesy of his former employers.
Jones enjoyed a five-year spell as a player with Brighton & Hove Albion between 2000 and 2005, before going on to be part of the coaching team at the AMEX Stadium from 2013 to 2016.
And he will be looking to get one over on the Seagulls in his first home league game in charge of the Saints after seeing his side overcome Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup last week.
Saints need a change of fortune after going into the mid-season break second from bottom in the league table - but knowing a win would lift them out of the relegation zone.
Form Guide
As mentioned, Jones picked up his first win last Wednesday night when he saw Saints do enough to avoid an upset against Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup.
Che Adams' brace gave the hosts a 2-1 win over the League One side - who had taken an early lead - to book their place in the last eight of the competition. Adams missed a great chance to complete his hat-trick, with Samuel Edozie also guilty of missing a sitter late on to add gloss to the scoreline.
Jones' main task though will be turning Saints' Premier League form around, with just one win since the end of August. Home fans will at least be hopeful of ending a run of three league defeats, which included the 4-1 home defeat to Newcastle United which proved to be Ralph Hasenhuttl's last game in charge.
Brighton, meanwhile, have continued to impress this season under new boss Roberto De Zerbi. It's taken a while for Albion to get going under the Italian since coming in at the start of October, but they produced some great performances before the break for the World Cup.
However, they will be licking their wounds after bowing out of the Carabao Cup in the week having lost on penalties at struggling League One side Charlton Athletic. Despite dominating at The Valley, Albion couldn't get the breakthrough before missing four of their seven penalties in the shoot-out.
Team News
Theo Walcott hopes to be fit despite coming off during Southampton's midweek EFL Cup win with a tight calf. Full-back Kyle Walker-Peters played an hour in that game in his first action since suffering a hamstring injury in October, and is set to feature again.
Brighton's World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister has been given a fortnight off after Argentina's triumph in Qatar. Adam Webster and Danny Welbeck are both out after sustaining injuries in a friendly earlier this month.
Predicted Line-Ups
Saints: Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Bella-Kotchap, Lyanco, Salisu, Perraud; Ward-Prowse, Maitland-Niles, Elyounoussi; Adams, Armstrong.
Albion: Sanchez; Lamptey, Dunk, Colwill, Estupinan; Caicedo, Lallana; Trossard, Gross, March; Undav.
Key Players
Fresh from scoring twice in Saints' win over Lincoln, Che Adams will be looking to add to his eight goals this season. Whilst only four of those have come in the Premier League, the Scot has proved to be Southampton's main threat leading the line and will need to be at his clinical best.
Brighton, meanwhile, will be looking to Leandro Trossard to continue his great form so far this season. The Belgian may not have been able to help his team out of the group stages at the World Cup, but he was one of few positives to take from the tournament for Belgium. With seven goals and two assists just the 14 games to date, Trossard's influence in the final third will be key to any Brighton success.
Match Details
The South-Coast derby will kick off at 3pm GMT at St Mary's Stadium, Southampton on Boxing Day - December 26th 2022.
How to Watch
The game will be available to Amazon Prime subscribers, with coverage starting from 2:30pm. Amazon are currently running a 30-day free trial, which means you could sign up to watch all of the Premier League action without being charged.