Arter’s back, to stick with
CARDIFF City travel to Southampton today in their first match since authorities confirmed the death of Emiliano Sala.
The Bluebirds record signing will again be honoured – by both sets of supporters at St Mary’s – with players to black armbands and a minute’s silence to take place before kick off.
The visitors will also wear embroidered daffodils on their shirts as a mark of respect for the player their fans never got to see in action before tragedy struck.
On the field, it’s an important clash in the relegation battle, with Cardiff looking to build on an excellent win against Bournemouth last time out.
Here’s all the essential details ahead of the game...
What time is kick off?
SOUTHAMPTON versus Cardiff gets under way at 3pm on Saturday, February 9.
Is it on TV?
NO, this game falls under the blanket ban in screening 3pm Saturday kick-offs in the UK.
There will be highlights on BBC’s Match Of The Day on Saturday night, or you can follow updates on the WalesOnline live blog.
What’s the team news?
SOUTHAMPTON will be without star striker Danny Ings, who has a hamstring injury.
The hosts are likely to have Ryan Bertrand, Maya Yoshida and PierreEmile Hojbjerg back in their squad, with the trio all returning to Saints training in the past week.
Cardiff, meanwhile, will have Harry Arter back for this one, after the midfielder missed their 2-0 win over Bournemouth as he was ineligible to face his parent club.
Victor Camarasa is still a doubt, with Sean Morrison out after having an appendix operation.
Neil Warnock could name the same side that beat the Cherries, with Arter competing for a midfield berth, but Oumar Niasse and Bobby DecordovaReid likely to continue their partnership up front.
Predicted Southampton XI (3-52):
McCarthy; Bednarek, Stephens, Vestergaard; Valery, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Targett; Redmond, Long.
Predicted Cardiff XI (4-2-31):
Etheridge; Peltier, Manga, Bamba, Bennett; Gunnarsson, Arter; Paterson, Reid, Murphy; Niasse.
What have the managers said? Ralph Hassenhuttl:
“I’m enjoying very much working with this team at the moment. It’s the reason why, on Saturday, we want to show we’re better than when we played the first time against Cardiff this year.
“It’s an important game for us. We lost 1-0 in Cardiff. I don’t know if they were the better team in that game, but they were cleverer and smarter and took their chances to win the game.
“That match was a little bit early, I had only one training session. So I want to see that we have developed our game.”
Neil Warnock:
“We’ve had to work hard, like we did on the Bournemouth fixture – especially after they beat Chelsea 4-0.
“You have to work on your strengths and what you think are the opponents’ weaknesses. Clubs like Southampton maybe didn’t expect to be in the position they’re in, whereas we did. We’ll go there in good spirits and give them a good game.
“In the next few games, there’s no game we shouldn’t try and win. We want a good result on Saturday.” 13/5 7/2
Match facts Courtesy of Opta:
■ Southampton have lost only one of their last 14 home matches against Cardiff in all competitions (W10 D3), although that defeat came in their last such meeting in April 2014 in the Premier League.
■ Cardiff have won two of their three Premier League games against Southampton (L1), only versus Fulham (three) have they won more in the competition.
■ Cardiff are looking to record three consecutive victories against Southampton in all competitions for the first time since March 1963.
■ Southampton are unbeaten in five Premier League games (W2 D3), last having a longer such run between April-August 2016 (7).
■ Following their win against Bournemouth last time out, Cardiff are looking to win consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since April 1962.
■ Cardiff are the lowest away scorers in the Premier League this season (seven goals), while only Fulham (2) have picked up fewer points on the road than the Bluebirds (W1 D2 L9, five points).
■ Cardiff ’s last five away goals in the Premier League have come in the 80th minute or later, with three of them coming in the 90th minute.
■ Just one of Southampton’s five Premier League wins this season have been against sides starting the day below them (3-1 vs Huddersfield). Indeed, their other four victories have been against sides starting the day in the top-half of the table.
■ All five of Nathan Redmond’s Premier League goal involvements for Southampton this season have come under Ralph Hasenhuttl, with 3 goals and 2 assists in 10 appearances (after none in 15 games before that this term).