Southampton vs Leicester preview: How to watch on TV, live stream, team news & prediction

Champions League hopefuls Leicester take on Southampton in the Premier League on Friday night, where victory would be a huge stride towards confirming top four status.

The Foxes have lost just once against Southampton in their last four meetings and famously put nine past them in October 2019. Southampton head into the game nine points clear of the relegation zone, but are struggling for consistency and are failing to keep the goals out as of late.

Leicester know there cannot be any slip ups from the position they hold in the league table if they wish to secure Champions League football next season, and a fixture against a leaky Southampton is ideal in maintaining third place towards the end of the season. Southampton lost to Leicester in the semi final of the FA Cup just a few weeks ago, however, and will seek vengeance.

Here's 90min's preview of the game.

Where to watch Southampton vs Leicester

When is kick off? Friday 30 April
What time is kick off? 20:00 (BST)
Where is it played? St Mary's Stadium
TV Channel? Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports Premier League (UK), Peacock (US)
Referee? Robert Jones
VAR? Jonathan Moss

Southampton team news

Hasenhuttl has confirmed striker Danny Ings will miss the next few games with the knock he picked up in the defeat at Spurs, so Nathan Redmond will likely start up front with Che Adams.

Ryan Bertrand missed the defeat to Tottenham last time out but should be available once again against Leicester. Forward Michael Obafemi is back in training following a long term injury and could appear for the first time since September.

Barring Oriol Romeu's long-term absence, the Saints otherwise boast a fully fit squad and need to get it firing in order to avoid a stressful end to the campaign. They've only scored one goal from their last three games.

Leicester City team news

The Foxes were hopeful that Harvey Barnes could recover from a knee injury suffered in March in order to return for the final few games of the season, but a setback in his recovery rules him out for what remains of the campaign.

Long-term absentee James Justin remains out, as does veteran defender Wes Morgan who is struggling to capture full fitness to make a return. Otherwise, Leicester have a fully fit squad and have been boosted by the returns of Ricardo Pereira and more recently James Maddison, while Kelechi Iheanacho has found red hot goalscoring form.

Predicted lineups

Southampton: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Armstrong, Diallo, Ward-Prowse, Walcott; Redmond, Adams.

Leicester: Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Soyuncu; Pereira, Tielemans, Ndidi, Castagne; Maddison; Vardy, Iheanacho.

Southampton recent form

Tottenham 2-1 Southampton (21/4) - Premier League
Leicester 1-0 Southampton (18/4) - FA Cup
West Brom 3-0 Southampton (12/4) - Premier League
Southampton 3-2 Burnley (4/4) - Premier League
Bournemouth 0-3 Southampton (20/3) - FA Cup

Leicester City recent form

Leicester 2-1 Crystal Palace (26/4) - Premier League
Leicester 3-0 West Brom (22/4) - Premier League
Leicester 1-0 Southampton (18/4) - FA Cup
West Ham 3-2 Leicester (11/4) - Premier League
Leicester 0-2 Manchester City (3/4) - Premier League

Prediction

While the chances of relegation at this point are slim, Southampton must be wary of the threat that going four games without a win poses. With Liverpool coming straight after Leicester, things get more difficult before they ease off into a more favourable run.

Having said that, Brendan Rodgers' side have found form at a crucial time of the season, and will be aware that slipping up isn't an option with such a close chasing pack behind. The goals are flowing currently and victory can put them ten points clear of fifth-placed West Ham heading into the weekend.

The Foxes will prevail.

Prediction: Southampton 1-3 Leicester