Southampton vs Brentford Prediction: Juric’s wait for a win to continue

After two games in charge, Ivan Juric is still searching for his first win - and point - as Southampton's head coach following a home defeat against West Ham United (0-1) and a 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace last time out. Fortunately for the Croatian, Brentford, who are yet to triumph on their Premier League travels this season, are the South Coast club's next opponents at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday afternoon (15:00).

Read on for my Southampton vs Brentford prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, as Thomas Frank and the Bees target a first away success of the 2024/25 league campaign.

Team News

Gavin Bazunu, Will Smallbone, Jack Stephens and Ross Stewart remain injured for Southampton, who will have to cope without influential Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes due to suspension. Flynn Downes is also a doubt after missing the defeat at Selhurst Park on December 29.

Football Odds

Brentford's injury list remains a long one with Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Fabio Carvalho and Igor Thiago the headline names in the treatment room. Aaron Hickey, Josh Dasilva, Ben Mee and Gustavo Nunes will also miss out again.

Southampton vs Brentford Odds

Despite Brentford's horrific run on the road which has seen them pick up a measly two points from nine away games, Southampton are billed as underdogs for this contest with odds of 9/5 giving Juric's side an implied win probability of 35.7%. The visitors, meanwhile, can be backed at 6/4, or a 40% chance, with the draw at 13/5.

Six of Brentford's last eight Premier League away trips have seen both teams score and it's 1/2 for the Bees to make it seven in nine on Saturday.

Saints striker Paul Onuachu (9/5) leads the anytime goalscorer market despite never scoring for the club since his January 2023 move from Belgian side Genk; Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa (both 15/8) are first up for Brentford.

Double Chance & Total Goals Over/Under 3.5 - Draw or Brentford & Under 3.5 Goals @ 6/5

A difficult one to call, this, given Saints won just one Premier League game in the first half of the season - and that was on November 2 against Everton (1-0) via an 85th-minute strike from Adam Armstrong.

Brentford, meanwhile, are winless in their last five matches across all competitions, losing four times - three in the league - and have been beaten in seven of their nine away contests to date, drawing the other two.

So, then, shall we call it a draw? Well, it's a strong possibility given that Saturday's hosts have looked more solid since the sacking of Russell Martin in the aftermath of their 5-0 home hammering by Tottenham Hotspur on December 15. Simon Rusk took interim charge of their next game, a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Liverpool at St Mary's, and oversaw a 2-1 defeat to the Premier League leaders before grinding out a point at Craven Cottage in a goalless draw with Fulham.

Juric subsequently took the reins and while he is yet to get a point on board, it's fair to say the team have shown a bit more steel, losing narrowly at home against West Ham before going a goal ahead at Palace, although the Eagles did recover to win 2-1.

Saints can take encouragement from their first two games under Juric, but have they shown enough to make me believe they can beat the Bees this weekend? Not quite, and despite Brentford's own bad recent run, they have endured a tough run of fixtures in the league, with their last three defeats coming against sides currently in the top four - Chelsea (2-1), Nottingham Forest (0-2) and Arsenal (1-3).

Between the home defeats against Forest and Arsenal, though, they did hold Brighton & Hove Albion to a goalless draw at the Amex Stadium, and in November, also experienced a 0-0 at Goodison Park against Everton, despite being reduced to 10 men in the 41st minute.

Injuries are hitting Frank's side hard and they won't get many, if any, of their walking wounded back this weekend, but there is still enough quality in their ranks to, at the very least, avoid defeat on the South Coast. Therefore, I'm taking the double chance result on Brentford and tying it in with under 3.5 total goals given their away games average 2.44 p/g while Southampton's home matches average 2.78 p/g.

Price Boosts - Paul Onuachu (SOU) 1+ Shots on Target, Bryan Mbeumo (BRE) 1+ Shots on Target & Yoane Wissa (BRE) 1+ Shots on Target @ 13/8 5/2

This is a slightly more fun selection that has been boosted by Betfred from 13/8 to 5/2 and involves three forwards - one from Southampton, Onuachu, and two from Brentford, Mbeumo and Wissa, all of whom are in the top four anytime goalscorer picks.

As previously mentioned, Onuachu is yet to score for Saints but he was never really handed a proper chance to impress until recently, firstly under Martin and now under Juric who has started him in back-to-back games. The towering Nigerian was at the centre of things against West Ham, shooting eight times and forcing two saves from Lukasz Fabianski, and although he was quieter at Selhurst Park, missing the target with his only effort in the 65th minute, he always provided a focal point and his presence is enough to unsettle any defender.

Given Brentford's injuries, particularly in defence, Onuachu could take advantage and at least force Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken into a save.

Next up is Brentford's Mbeumo who opened the scoring against the Gunners on New Year's Day before Mikel Arteta's side took control of proceedings. Mbeumo, like strike partner Wissa, has really stepped up since Ivan Toney's move to Saudi Arabia, scoring 11 Premier League goals at the halfway stage of the season, and he's averaging 0.9 shots on target per game, managing at least one in four of his last five top-flight outings.

Wissa, meanwhile, has struck nine league goals this term and is also averaging 0.9 shots on target per game; against Southampton's fragile defence, the 28-year-old will fancy his chances of directing at least one effort on goal this weekend.

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