The ecstatic Premier League action returns for another weekend and this Saturday sees a so-far-lacklustre Southampton team entertain West Bromwich Albion at St. Mary's in the evening kick-off - with the two teams going into the match on the back of draws. 

Mauricio Pellegrino's Saints were forced to come from behind twice to earn a point last Sunday at home to an impressive Newcastle United side, and the south coast outfit have struggled to claim a win since their only league feat almost two months ago when the club triumphed against West Ham

As for West Brom, they will feel unlucky to have come away from their Monday meeting with Leicester City, which ended in one goal-apiece and means the Baggies remain tenth in the table prior to this weekend's round of top-flight matches. 

Southampton and West Bromwich  incidentally have similar goal scoring records in the division up to this point; Saturday's hosts have netted seven and shipped nine - the exact same as the visitors - only a point separates the two teams. 

Baggies face injury concerns ahead of Southampton encounter

Tony Pulis can count himself unlucky for the number of influential first-team members currently on the sideline. Summer arrival Oliver Burke is momentarily struggling with a hamstring injury which should unfortunately keep him out of the trip south. 

Meanwhile, attacker Hal Robson-Kanu and midfielder James Morrison are also going to sit out of the Southampton fixture but the main issue for Pulis is his goalkeepers as both Ben Foster and Boaz Myhill are hit and miss for the game at St. Mary's. 

Pellegrino isn't so concerned in the team news department; only the one major absentee being Jérémy Pied. James Ward-Prowse made a fairly remarkable stamp on the boss for his performance during the Saints' Under-23 6-2 win over Newcastle on Monday, having been an unused substitute in the first-team's draw. 

Managers stand confident before kick-off

Southampton supporters showed their appreciation for the players' willing to claw back from behind twice against the Magpies, however, the squad should be aiming to avoid that situation for the visit of West Bromwich Albion. 

In his pre-match conference, Mauricio Pellegrino said “The reaction of the team was really good, but we have to start from the beginning with this spirit”. The Argentine also mentioned how his team should approach the weekend, ''Every single week we are learning from our last few games, and I feel that my players are better prepared.”

The Baggies are welcoming back Nacer Chadli to the first-team fold after a short injury and the Belgian bagged the opener in their 1-1 draw with Leicester earlier this week, Pulis is hoping the former Tottenham Hotspur star can help lead his team to victory against Southampton; “We need to get him back to the level he showed in those first games for us. He has a great incentive as well with the World Cup coming up next summer''.

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Last time out at St. Mary's

Whilst many will be anticipating a tense, physical battle as Southampton lock horns with West Bromwich  at the weekend, the last encounter on the Hampshire coast certainly lived up to expectations. 

The two clubs met on New Years' Eve last season at St. Mary's and Claude Puel was, of course, in the dug out at the time for the entertainers. Shane Long scored just moments prior to the interval but the score line was level going into the break as Matt Phillips snatched an equaliser just 120 seconds after the opener. 

Then five minutes into the second-half, West Brom found what turned out to be a winner as Hal Robson-Kanu ensured the three points went back to the Midlands, and to further dent Southampton's woes that day Virgil van Dijk received his marching orders for a second bookable offence in the latter stages of the game. 

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