Southampton 1-0 Leicester LIVE: Carlos Alcaraz gives Saints the lead as Premier League’s bottom side bounce back after James Ward-Prowse saw his penalty SAVED by Foxes’ Danny Ward
Follow Sportsmail’s live blog for the Premier League clash between Southampton and Leicester.
Host commentator
A brilliant 45 minutes of football on the South Coast.
Leicester were on top for long stretches but struggled to force real chances. There best came when Iheanacho headed wide, and he knew very little about the effort.
Southampton should have taken the lead from the penalty spot but Danny Ward’s save went unrewarded as Alcaraz opened the scoring minutes later with a classy counter attack goal.
As it stands, Saints will move to within three points of Leicester.
The goalscorer looks to have hurt himself while celebrating his opener.
He looks OK to carry on but may have learnt an important lesson there.
Lovely goal on the counter from Southampton.
It’s a brilliant ball from Che Adams which Alcaraz runs on to. He takes a good first touch and finishes brilliantly across the keeper.
It is being checked for offside… But VAR clears it!
Saints lead 1-0.
Southampton win a penalty after a handball on the edge of the box.
James Ward-Prowse, one of the greatest dead-ball specialists in the league, looks certain to score but it’s saved by Danny Ward!
What a moment that could be in the relegation scrap, the biggest chance of the game so far by miles.
Kamaldeen gets the crowd up with some quick feet on the left wing, but the chance comes to nothing.
Leicester then win a corner down the other end and pile the pressure on with a well worked set-piece routine, but they cannot find a way through.
Brilliant free kick whipped in from Maddison on the left.
It falls perfectly for Iheanacho but the striker seems to be surprised by the ball’s arrival as it hits his head rather than the other way around.
He looks baffled as his accidental effort sails wide.
All Leicester at the moment.
There is a delay as Romeo Lava goes down and looks hurt.
He receives treatment on the pitch but it looks as though he’ll be able to continue.
The visitors have pegged Saints back in their own half for the past few minutes after a bright start.
Ricardo gets a chance from wide but his cross-cum-shot flies wide of the post an the waiting Maddison.
The Saints man surges forward down the right and bursts into the box.
He has options in the middle but cannot find them with his cross as it’s blocked by the Leicester defence.
An electric counter from the hosts, and something for Rodgers’ side to look out for.
Both sides have looked threatening already without creating real chances.
Maddison was nearly released through the centre after a good run but it was well cut out.
Leicester look dangerous in wide areas but will have to watch Saints on the counter.
The home side have pressed nicely in the opening exchanges and won the ball up the pitch well.
They force an early corner amid a good spell of pressure but cannot make anything from it.
We’re underway at St Mary’s!
Leicester kick off first in this relegation scrap.
We’re closing in on kick-off on the South Coast.
The home fans will be willing their side on to what would be a vital three points.
Brendan Rodgers on Sky Sports: ‘We need to be more defensively aggressive. We had a tough start to the season, decent in the middle, and then we’ve struggled to get going again.
‘Today is a great opportunity. [Having Maddison back is] a huge boost. He’s one of the top players in the league.’
Southampton boss Ruben Selles on Sky Sports: ‘We’ve not had the best week.
‘We need to play to our strengths and that’s why we’ve made a couple of changes. It is a big plus having Che Adams back.’
The fans are filing in on the South Coast.
Saints will be keen to bounce back after being dumped out of the FA Cup but have bad memories of this fixture- Leicester famously won 9-0 at St Mary’s in 2019.
It’s been a lean season for Jamie Vardy, but it would take a brave man to write him off.
There is little the striker hasn’t achieved in the game and he may still have something to say about Leicester’s Premier League survival this season.
Tom Collomosse explains why the 36-year-old should never be written off:
Southampton are In desperate need of a result after a tough season so far. They did pick up a win against Chelsea recently but remain bottom of the league after losing key relegation games against Leeds and Wolves in recent weeks.
Brendan Rodgers side looked as though they had found their feet this season after scoring four against both Aston Villa and Tottenham in consecutive wins but have since lost to both Manchester United and Arsenal. They were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn in the week.
They have been accused of relying too heavily on James Maddison, who returns to the side today.
We're set, here's your XI at St. Mary's! 📝 🦊#SOULEI pic.twitter.com/vq9CEFJhJT
Your SAINTS ✊
How #SaintsFC will line-up against #LCFC: pic.twitter.com/h1IXfDtgCO
And welcome to Sportsmail’s coverage of Southampton vs Leicester.
We’ll have all the news and updates ahead of kick off at 5:30.
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