At A Glance
Friday Night Football brings Aston Villa and Southampton together for a Premier League clash at Villa Park.
A tribute will be paid to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II before the match kicks off, with both sets of fans encouraged to participate in a minute’s silence.
When the action starts on the pitch, the home side will be looking to build on an impressive 1-1 draw against Manchester City in B6 last time out.
Leon Bailey’s equaliser ended a run of three Premier League defeats and leaves Villa sat 17th ahead of Friday’s game.
Southampton are three points better off after winning two, drawing one and losing three of their opening six league matches.
Ralph Hassenhuttl’s team were in the Midlands for their last outing, suffering a 1-0 loss at the hands of Wolves.
The Saints have looked to Che Adams to provide the majority of their goals thus far, with the striker netting four times this season.
Standout Stats
Aston Villa's 4-0 victory in last season's corresponding fixture ended their six-match winless run at home to Southampton.
Saints have earned a club record 16 Premier League victories against both Villa and Newcastle.
Aston Villa have gone 11 top-flight matches without a clean sheet, their longest run since a 26-game streak ended nine years ago.
Philippe Coutinho has scored one goal and provided no assists in his past 17 Premier League appearances. He has been directly involved in a career-high seven Premier League goals against Southampton, scoring five and setting up two.
Danny Ings scored 46 goals in 100 appearances for Southampton before joining Villa in 2021.
Their current run of 12 defeats in 18 league games began with a 4-0 defeat at Villa Park in March.
Southampton's seven points so far this season were all won from a losing position - they have conceded the first goal in each of their past five matches.
They have earned 13 points from their last five Friday fixtures, keeping a clean sheet in all four victories.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have gone 17 top-flight away matches without a clean sheet for the first time since May 1990 to March 1991. Their club top-flight record is 21 games between September 1988 and September 1989.
It's 12 league games without a clean sheet for Saints home or away, the longest current run in the division.
The Last Meeting
Villa were in fine form when they crushed Southampton 4-0 at Villa Park in March.
A dominant display from the hosts saw Ollie Watkins score the opener before Douglas Luiz made it two before half-time.
Philippe Coutinho and Danny Ings piled further misery on the Saints after the break as the home side picked up three points in the Premier League.
Team News
Steven Gerrard believes Emi Martínez will overcome illness to play against the Saints, while fellow goalkeeper Robin Olsen has also missed training this week with injury.
Ollie Watkins was also under the weather at the beginning of the week, and Gerrard is set to make a late call on the striker.
Jan Bednarek is ineligible to face his parent club while Matty Cash and Diego Carlos are sidelined through injury.
Roméo Lavia and Tino Livramento remain Southampton’s only absentees for the match.
The Boss
“They’ve recruited really well, and he seems to be recruiting young players that are full of energy and have no fear. I worked with one of them, Joe Aribo, up at Rangers and I know what he’s capable of. They’re a dynamic team, they’re young and athletic. They’re capable of pressing in transition. They’ve gone a bit more direct and shown they’re up for the fight. The challenge is there for us – it’s an exciting one. For us, it’s very much game on.”
Steven Gerrard
