Marko Arnautovic tries to slip Charlie Adam into the penalty with a cute little through ball, but it's blocked off. The ball comes to Bojan, whose low drive is comfortably held by Maarten Stekelenburg.

In fact the new ball is almost immediately in the net! Pinball in the Stoke area, the visitors don't clear their lines and Dusan Tadic is inches away from finding the corner of the net with a drive across goal.

An early substitution. It's not one of the players though - it's the ball, which turns out to be flat. Maybe a new one will lead to a bit more excitement.

A very quiet start at St Mary's, with both teams struggling to get into their usual passing rhythm. Glen Johnson knocks a long ball straight to the goalkeeper, then Graziano Pelle surrenders possession for Southampton.

Away we go. Southampton, kicking from left to right, get us underway. The hosts are in red and white stripes, Stoke in their black change strip.

The players of both sides link arms together as the French national anthem is played in honour of the victims of the Paris attacks. 

Image source, Reuters

Any last-minute pointers for you before this match gets underway? Well, it might be wise to bet on a draw - with only one win apiece for these evenly-matched sides in the last six meetings.

There are usually goals though - and one man who Stoke might look to off the bench today is Mame Biram Diouf, who has scored in their last two clashes with Southampton.

Yes, as Tony mentioned, both these sides have been in fine form of late.

Southampton are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games, with four wins and two defeats - their longest unbeaten run in the top flight since November 2013.

Stoke have been just as impressive as late - the Potters have only lost once in their last seven league matches and have kept four clean sheets in their last five games. Thanks in no small part to this man...

Tony Husband
MOTD commentator at St Mary's

"The temperature is due to plunge on the south coast this Saturday and so might the goal tally. Stoke arrive at St Mary's having not conceded on the road since 12 September and with a squad full of confidence.

"Southampton, with only one defeat in nine in the league, have ghosted up the table in recent weeks. With both sides in form there's no better time for these two to clash."

Southampton make three changes from the side which beat Sunderland last time out - Shane Long, Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares come in. Sadio Mane is only on the bench after playing for Senegal against Madagascar in midweek.

Image source, BBC Sport

Stoke manager Mark Hughes keeps faith with the side which beat Chelsea last time out - no changes for the Potters.

Image source, BBC Sport

Think you can do better than Lawro? Predict the score for this match and the rest of this round's Premier League fixtures in our Predictor game.

Image source, #bbcfootball

"As the weeks go by, Saints are confirming what they showed us last season, which is that they are one of the best teams in the league.

"Since Ryan Shawcross returned to action at the end of October, it is no surprise that Stoke have been even harder to beat, but this will be a big test for the Potters."

Read Lawro's full predictions v WWE wrestling star Neville

What do you think of when you think of Southampton and Stoke? Well, these two clubs haven't always been a byword for attractive football, but nowadays they are synonymous with mid-table solidity and a cultured passing game.

It's Southampton who have made the better start to this season, sitting comfortably in seventh, while Stoke are 12th. But a win for the Potters today will see them close the gap on their South Coast rivals to just one point.

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to our live page for Southampton v Stoke City. We'll have text commentary here from 14:30 GMT. You can keep up to date with all the action from today's games here.