Kick-off: 1215, 20/03/2021
Stadium: Vitality Stadium
TV: BT Sport
Southampton have a welcome distraction from their poor Premier League form when they face south coast neighbours Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Saints have lost 10 of their last 12 league games but should still have too much quality for a Bournemouth team sitting outside the play-off places in the Championship.
The visitors won 2-0 here in July and another away win at 19/20 is our opening Bournemouth vs Southampton prediction.
A Look At Bournemouth’s Betting Odds
Bournemouth’s hopes of an immediate return to the Premier League are in the balance after a poor run of form since Christmas.
Having only lost two league games up until then, the Cherries have since suffered eight defeats and managed just six wins to effectively scupper their hopes of automatic promotion.
An impressive 3-0 win against Swansea on Tuesday night boosted their hopes of a top-six spot but we’re wary of reading too much into that just three days after losing here against Barnsley.
Luton, Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff have also left with all three points this year so there are plenty of concerns about a team now managed by Jonathan Woodgate following the sacking of Jason Tindall last month.
There is plenty of attacking talent in this squad though, as shown by a 2-0 win at Burnley in the fifth round.
Looking at the Bournemouth vs Southampton odds, a Saints win and both teams to score looks worth the extra risk at 11/4.
A Look At Southampton’s Betting Odds
Southampton will surely be keen to get back to winning ways and head into the international break on a high after their slide down the Premier League table.
A promising first half of the season has fizzled out and there is a danger they could yet be dragged into a relegation battle if they do not stop the rot soon.
Their best performances in the past couple of months have been in the FA Cup, with a 1-0 win at home to Arsenal in the fourth round followed by a 2-0 victory at Wolves.
Ralph Hasenhuttl seems unlikely to make too many team changes at this stage of the competition, especially with the international break meaning they are not back in action until facing Burnley on April 4.
Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton was a major disappointment but they gave a decent account of themselves after making a bright start in a 5-2 loss at Manchester City four days earlier.
Their first-half record is the sixth best in the Premier League and they have scored 23 goals in that time compared to just 13 after the break.
The 45 first-half goals in their matches this season is second only to Leeds (46) in the top flight so 21/10 for the first half to have the most goals completes our Bournemouth vs Southampton betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
BOURNEMOUTH 3-0 Swansea – Philip Billing, Joel Latibeaudiere (og), Arnaut Groeneveld
SOUTHAMPTON 1-2 Brighton – Che Adams
Head-to-head: Bournemouth 0-2 Southampton, Southampton 1-3 Bournemouth, Southampton 3-3 Bournemouth, Bournemouth 0-0 Southampton, Southampton 2-1 Bournemouth
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