Steve Cooper will be looking to secure back-to-back wins as Leicester City manager as he takes his team to St Mary’s on Saturday.
Leicester City finally earned a first Premier League win of the season last time out as Steve Cooper oversaw a 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
It could be argued that the international break has come at a bad time for Leicester as they will have wanted to build momentum following the victory over the Cherries.
However, the break has given Cooper time to prepare for a massive three league fixtures against Southampton, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town.
The first of those comes against Southampton on Saturday and history suggests Cooper should be confident going into the St Mary’s clash.
Leicester City boast good record against Southampton
This fixture is one that will bring great joy to Leicester supporters as they look back at their record-equalling 9-0 win at the home of the Saints in 2019.
Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez both scored hat-tricks on that night, with Youri Tielemans, James Maddison and Ben Chilwell scoring the remaining three goals.
That game was the start of a run that has seen Leicester lose just three of their last 11 games against Southampton in all competitions.
This recent record should give Cooper encouragement, whilst a number of the current squad were involved as Leicester beat Southampton 4-1 and 5-0 on their way to the Championship title last season.
Cooper yet to taste defeat against Southampton
To add to Leicester’s record against their next opponents in the Premier League, Cooper also has his own positive experiences against Southampton to lean on.
Cooper has only faced Southampton twice in his managerial career but won on both occasions.
Both of these games came in the 2022/23 season – in which the Saints actually beat Leicester twice – as Cooper managed rivals Nottingham Forest to the double over Southampton.
It was crucial he did too, as Forest were embroiled in the relegation battle with Southampton and Leicester and these two wins were massive steps towards survival.
With Leicester’s record as a club combined with Cooper’s own record against the south coast outfit, all the omens are good for Leicester to back up their win over Bournemouth with another against Southampton.
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