Southampton

Colchester v Southampton
Colchester are without the suspended Richard Garcia for Southampton's visit while Kevin Watson will have a late fitness test on a tight calf. Utility-player Greg Halford is expected to be available after an X-ray confirmed he has not broken a toe. Southampton midfielder Rudi Skacel could miss the trip to Colchester because of a slight hamstring pull. Inigo Idiakez is available after being cup-tied but Chris Makin is ruled out with a shin injury.

Colchester 2-0 Southampton
Former Colchester boss George Burley endured a miserable return to his old club as Southampton fell to defeat. Colchester took an early lead when Kevin McLeod headed past Kelvin Davis from Jamie Cureton's right-wing cross. Johnnie Jackson shot too close to Davis and Chris Iwelumo prodded wide from a corner as the Us dominated proceedings. Bradley Wright-Phillips shot tamely at Aidan Davison and Rudi Skacel had a shot cleared off the line, before Cureton slotted home in stoppage time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Colchester boss Geraint Williams on Rudi Skacel 's late missed chance: \"At the start of the season we were playing well and not getting the points, and perhaps here we got a little more than we deserved. \"And for Skacel's chance, I think Chris Barker was the only person who hadn't given it up. \"But all credit to my players, from the first whistle we go out to win games and it's nice to get an early reward.\" Southampton manager George Burley on referee Dean Whitestone's failure to award a penalty for Greg Halford's tackle on Kenwyne Jones: \"You can't legislate for that. Missed chances, a bit of luck deserting us and a diabolical decision have cost us. \"It was a blatant penalty, everyone in the ground saw it. It was a two-handed push on our player. Even Geraint Williams told me he couldn't believe it wasn't given so there's no justice. \"We want to be winning games, and when you're not winning you have to try to put it right. That's football - although a bit of Lady Luck wouldn't go amiss.\" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Colchester: Davison, Halford, Baldwin, Brown, Barker, McLeod (Jones 84), Izzet, Jackson, Duguid, Iwelumo, Cureton. Subs Not Used: White, Gerken, Guy, Richards. Booked: Brown, McLeod. Goals: McLeod 3, Cureton 90. Southampton: Davis, Lundekvam, Bale, Baird, Wright, Surman (Skacel 46), Viafara (Licka 46), Idiakez, Jones, Dyer, Rasiak (Wright-Phillips 63). Subs Not Used: Miller, Pele. Booked: Licka, Lundekvam. Att: 5,893. Ref: D Whitestone (Northamptonshire).

Southampton v Wolverhampton
Southampton's Grzegorz Rasiak and John Viafara are both doubts. Chris Makin (shin) is back in training and could feature but David Prutton (ankle), Djamel Belmadi and Darren Powell (both knee) are all out. Wolves have doubts over Jody Craddock and Jay Bothroyd, so Leon Clarke will be asked to lead the line alongside striker Jemal Johnson. Carl Cort is also set to figure after playing 70 minutes at the weekend but midfielder Mark Davies is out.

Southampton 2-0 Wolves
Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his first goal for two months to set up victory for Southampton and send Wolves to their fourth straight away defeat. Wright-Phillips collected Kenwyne Jones' knockdown and curled home from the edge of the area with the first decent shot at goal of the match. Jones secured the points with a volley from 12 yards before Wolves keeper Matt Murray denied Rudi Skacel a third. Wolves' best chance came when Karl Henry's free-kick flew just over. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southampton: Davis, Makin, Baird, Lundekvam, Bale, Dyer (Licka 72), Wright, Idiakez, Skacel (Surman 84), Wright-Phillips, Jones.. Subs Not Used: Miller, Pele, Lallana. Goals: Wright-Phillips 39, Jones 70. Wolves: Murray, Edwards (Little 84), Breen, Wheater, Clapham, Potter (Gobern 57), Henry, Olofinjana, Ricketts, Cort, Clarke (Johnson 58). Subs Not Used: Ikeme, Craig Davies. Booked: Potter. Att: 18,979 Ref: M Thorpe (Suffolk).

Southampton v Hull
Southampton's Grzegorz Rasiak (rib), Gareth Bale (hamstring) and Nathan Dyer (calf) will undergo late fitness tests. Midfielder John Viafara is available after missing the game against Wolves with a virus. Hull's Danny Mills serves a one-match ban while Ian Ashbee begins a three-game suspension, but new loan signing Jason Jarrett is in the squad. John Welsh (hamstring) is missing along with Steve McPhee, Sam Collins and David Livermore (all knee).

Southampton 0-0 Hull
Championship strugglers Hull earned a precious point after holding Southampton to a goalless draw. Inigo Idiakez came closest for Saints with a delightful free-kick from 20 yards which struck a post as Hull rode their luck after the interval. Saints were on the front foot for much of the game and Bradley Wright-Phillips saw a shot flash wide, while another Idiakez effort was blocked. For Hull, Jon Parkin twice forced good saves from Saints keeper Kelvin Davis. Southampton manager George Burley: \"We had seven or eight decent half-chances, hit the post and had one cleared off the line. \"I felt that if we had got one goal, we would have got another four or five. It was a frustrating game because we had total domination. \"We had two young strikers up front in Bradley Wright-Phillips and Kenwyne Jones who did well in the week when we beat Wolves, but maybe it was asking too much for them to succeed twice in three days. \"We tried to play the right way by passing the ball, and in the end we just could not break them down.\" Hull manager Phil Parkinson: \"This was a good performance, disciplined throughout. It was important after winning at Southend to get something here at Southampton, and we managed it. \"Our back four did exceptionally well to cope with all the pressure they came under and Danny Coles was excellent bearing in mind he had trained very little because of injury. \"We have given ourselves a platform now because we have home games coming up against Wolves and Stoke. But we are not getting carried away.\" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southampton: Davis, Makin, Lundekvam, Baird, Bale, Licka, Wright, Idiakez (Dyer 62), Skacel, Wright-Phillips, Jones. Subs Not Used: Miller, Surman, McGoldrick, Viafara. Booked: Baird. Hull: Myhill, Ricketts, Coles, Turner, Dawson, Fagan, Delaney, Jarrett, Marney (Welsh 80), Elliott, Parkin. Subs Not Used: Duke, Barmby, Forster, Bridges. Booked: Dawson, Parkin. Att: 20,560. Ref: A Bates (Staffordshire).

Bialkowski nets Southampton deal
Southampton goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski has signed a new four-year contract with the Championship side. The 19-year-old has been sidelined since damaging cruciate ligaments against Newcastle in February. But his performances prior to the injury have persuaded Burley to keep him at the club until 2010. Bialkowski, who is now fully fit, said: \"I have signed a four-year deal which I am very happy about. It was an easy decision because I am very happy here.\"

Sunderland v Southampton
Sunderland are boosted by the return of winger Ross Wallace from suspension and defender Nyron Nosworthy has been passed fit after a hamstring problem. However, fellow defenders Stephen Wright, Stanislav Varga and Kenny Cunningham all remain sidelined. Southampton's Inigo Idiakez is rated as 50/50 after picking up a thigh strain. Top-scorer Grzegorz Rasiak is still struggling with bruised ribs and faces a late fitness test but defenders Chris Makin and Michael Svensson could play.

Sunderland 1-1 Southampton
Welsh teenager Gareth Bale struck a last-minute equaliser for Southampton. Bale drove in a powerful shot from the edge of the area which appeared to take a deflection off Steve Caldwell on its way past Darren Ward. Southampton controlled the majority of the game but until Bale's goal had been defied by Ward, who produced a string of saves to frustrate the visitors. George Burley's side fell behind in the 62nd minute when Ross Wallace curled a delightful free-kick past Kelvin Davis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunderland: Ward, Nosworthy, Caldwell, Danny Collins, Nyatanga, Whitehead, Kavanagh (Stephen Elliott 80), Yorke, Wallace, Connolly (Leadbitter 75), Murphy (Brown 67). Subs Not Used: Carson, Liam Miller. Booked: Nosworthy. Goals: Wallace 62. Southampton: Davis, Makin, Lundekvam, Baird, Bale, Licka (Wright-Phillips 67), Wright, Pele, Skacel (Surman 63), Jones (Rasiak 63), Dyer. Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Sarmiento. Goals: Bale 90. Att: 25,667. Ref: K Friend (Leicestershire).

Southend v Southampton
Southend are still without Kevin Maher and Adam Barrett. Marr is suspended while Barrett has an addominal problem. Efe Sodje is receiving treatment on a sore leg and Che Wilson is not quite ready to return from a knee injury. Southampton have Inigo Idiakez back after a month out with a thigh injury. David Prutton is pushing for his first start this term after ankle surgery. Bradley Wright-Phillips is pushing Kenwyne Jones to partner top scorer Grzegorz Rasiak in attack.

Saints' Belmadi on comeback trail
Southampton midfielder Djamel Belmadi has targeted a return to action in January as he completes his recovery from ankle surgery. Algerian international Belmadi, 30, feared he could miss the rest of the season after surgery in November. He should start running next week and could be back in full training in four weeks' time. Belmadi's return target is a reserve game, either at Wycombe on 16 January or against Brighton on 23 January.

Southampton v Norwich
Southampton midfielder Andrew Surman has shaken off a dead leg suffered in the surprise defeat at Southend. Playmaker Inigo Idiakez made a return from injury from the bench at Roots Hall and could be in line for a place in the starting line-up. Norwich could rush Craig Fleming back into action with Dion Dublin injured and Jason Shackell suspended. Striker Robert Earnshaw is a major doubt with a knee injury, Peter Thorne or Ryan Jarvis stand by to deputise.

Sheff Wed 3-3 Southampton
Sheffield Wednesday keeper Mark Crossley headed a last-gasp leveller from Chris Brunt's corner to cap an Owls comeback against Southampton. Grzegorz Rasiak shot Saints ahead after 14 minutes and Kenwyne Jones headed a second 12 minutes later. Glenn Whelan's drive pulled a goal back for Wednesday before half-time, but Bradley Wright-Phillips' low shot made it three after 50 minutes. Whelan scored his second to give the Owls hope before Crossley struck. Sheff Wed: Crossley, Bullen, Bougherra, Simek, Spurr, Lunt, Whelan, Folly (Andrews 58), Brunt, Tudgay, Burton (MacLean 62). Subs Not Used: Adamson, Coughlan, O'Brien. Booked: Andrews. Goals: Whelan 28, 69, Crossley 90. Southampton: Davis, Ostlund, Lundekvam (Viafara 46), Baird, Bale, Pele, Skacel, Wright, Surman, Rasiak, Jones (Wright-Phillips 46). Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Idiakez, Dyer. Booked: Bale. Goals: Rasiak 14, Jones 26, Wright-Phillips 50. Att: 23,739 Ref: S Mathieson (Cheshire).

Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace
Ten-man Southampton had to settle for a draw after Jobi McAnuff equalised in the 54th minute for Crystal Palace. Kenwyne Jones was sent off for Saints after a first-half melee before Palace keeper Scott Flinders escaped with a yellow card for an apparent handball. Gareth Bale struck the bar from the resulting free-kick but Saints did take the lead when Chris Baird headed in. However, Baird's joy was shortlived when his error gifted McAnuff the ball and he slotted home to equalise. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southampton manager George Burley: \"Usually when a team plays with 10 men for so long you'd be happy with a draw but I felt we deserved a win. \"We never stopped trying to attack, had more of the possession and the better chances and, but for one mistake, we would have won.\" Crystal Palace boss Peter Taylor on goalkeeper Scott Flinders, who was booked for handling outside the box: \"It looks like Scott just kicked the ball on to his arm. It shouldn't even have been a yellow card. \"He came in at the last minute after Julian Speroni was injured and he had a great game.\" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southampton: Davis, Ostlund, Baird, Lundekvam, Bale, Surman (Wright-Phillips 88), Wright, Pele, Skacel, Rasiak, Jones. Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Idiakez, Dyer, Viafara. Sent Off: Jones (28). Goals: Baird 47. Crystal Palace: Flinders, Butterfield, Hudson, Ward, Granville, Soares, Fletcher (Reich 46), Kennedy, McAnuff, Morrison (Freedman 66), Kuqi. Subs Not Used: Wilkinson, Lawrence, Scowcroft. Booked: Fletcher, Flinders, Soares. Goals: McAnuff 54. Att: 30,548. Ref: R Beeby (Northamptonshire).

Plymouth v Southampton
Plymouth could be without striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake after he hobbled out of Saturday's defeat at Derby. Fellow attacker Nick Chadwick (groin) is out but Paul Connolly is set to continue his comeback from injury. Southampton are light in midfield with Nathan Dyer, Inigo Idiakez and Andrew Surman all sidelined. Winger Dyer faces a scan on a suspected fractured ankle, Idiakez has a thigh problem and Surman is out with a knee ligament injury.

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