Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at St. Mary's

These south coast rivals arrive here at St. Mary's on the back of important victories, Southampton taking three points at Sheffield United and Bournemouth beating Everton.

Eddie Howe has made Bournemouth a permanent fixture in the Premier League while Ralph Hasenhuttl's revival of Southampton is gaining momentum after he engineered survival last season.

It is a glorious Friday night down here and conditions are perfect.

MOTDx's Josh Denzel heads down to the Fifa 20 launch event in London to meet Leicester City's James Maddison with the two going head-to-head on the game.

The stats are stacked against Bournemouth.

The Cherries have never won a match at Southampton in any competition (D6, L9).

They are aiming to win consecutive Premier League fixtures for just the second time in 2019.

And Eddie Howe has never won away from home in all competitions against Southampton as manager (D2, L5), with his sides failing to score on five occasions...

Image source, Getty Images

Christian Evans: Biggest made up rivalry ever has got to be Leeds with man utd or chelsea; to be their rivals they have to be competing with them, and they haven't been even in the same league for 17 years!

Bournemouth have confirmed that Ryan Fraser has had a knock so only makes the bench for tonight's game.

Manager Eddie Howe added: "With Lewis [Cook], it's a case of managing him and his game time.

"Two games in five days is a lot after such a long time out so it's very important we look after him."

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Southampton

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl: “With a different shape we have had a few big wins, but we can still be very flexible, which is maybe our biggest strength at the moment.

"We can switch the shape whenever we want, depending on what the opponent demands from us. There are many different challenges that you face in the Premier League. Every club has a different tactic and we must be very flexible.

“At the moment we are, and we are convinced about what we are doing, and we have more options in every position than last season.

“I think the better team will be the team that is more flexible and more clinical with the chances they have than the opponent.

“It will be an interesting game tactically and for the intensity.”

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Sulaimon Adelekan: My made up rivalry is between Arsenal and Manchester City because during the Wenger reign, they poached almost all our top players from Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Emmanuel Adebayor and Samir Nasir with mouthwatering offers.

Meanwhile in the League of Ireland Premier Division, Bohemians have named 14-year-old forward Evan Ferguson in their starting line-up for tonight's match against Derry City.

He had a hand in the goal against Chelsea in pre-season!

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I am going to go with Southampton to edge this one, but it should be a good game and I am expecting the Cherries to create a few chances.

Eddie Howe's side have always got goals in them, and they are slowly sorting out their defensive issues too.

Prediction: 2-1

Lawro's full predictions v former Wales rugby captain Sam Warburton

Fancy a bit of Futsal?

We have live coverage of England's first international against Germany from St George's Park.

With the next stage of the World Cup qualifiers in Italy next month, the squad will be looking to get a good game under their belt.

Head over here to watch it.

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Bournemouth

Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake: “We always have good games against Southampton and this one promises to be no different.

“It will be a tough game but, if we show the same level of energy as we did against Everton, I’m sure we can do something.

“We have to focus on being consistent this season. Last season, we had wins like Everton and then didn’t play the same in our next game. We have to do it again against Southampton."

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As John says, this is one of those derbies that isn't a proper derby. Geographically it is, but that's about it.

In the office we have been discussing what teams we personally consider big rivals.

Are you a Liverpool fan who still hasn't forgiven Chelsea for almost stealing Steven Gerrard? Maybe you're a Nottingham Forest fan who can't stand Leeds? Or a Watford fan who is still angry over Everton's poaching of Marco Silva?

Tweet us with your made up rivalries using #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only). Don't forget to say which team you support!

John Roder
Match of the Day commentator

With both Southampton and Bournemouth victorious last weekend, this Friday night match is set to be an intriguing encounter.

There's no doubt that in many quarters this will be billed as a south coast derby, but trust me, as someone born and bred in Hampshire, the real derby match for Saints is next Tuesday at Portsmouth in the EFL Cup.

Callum Wilson scored twice in the last meeting, a 3-3 draw at St Mary's last April, and the Bournemouth striker may well be the difference given his impressive start to the season.

Nathan Redmond is back from an ankle injury for Southampton. He replaces the injured Moussa Djenepo, who scored the only goal in their last game against Sheffield United.

He is one of two changes, with defender Kevin Danso back from suspension to replace Maya Yoshida.

Southampton XI: Gunn, Soares, Vestergaard, Adams, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Boufal, Redmond, Hojbjerg, Bednarek, Danso

Image source, .

Just one change from Bournemouth's 3-1 win over Everton. Jefferson Lerma takes the place of Lewis Cook in midfield.

Ryan Fraser - who scored in that game - is a substitute again.

Bournemouth XI: Ramsdale, Cook, Ake, King, Lerma, Solanke, C Wilson, Stacey, Rico, H Wilson, Billing

Image source, .

In this week's MOTDx Jermaine Jenas and his footballing mates – Craig Mitch, Chelcee Grimes and Reece Parkinson – talk about the Premier League and everything we love about it - the skills, celebs, music, fashion and culture.

Watch here.

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Both of these teams have the same number of points (seven) and goal difference (-1) after their first five games of the season.

Image source, BBC Sport

Friday night football.

This week it's a mini south coast derby between Southampton and Bournemouth. Later down the line, tonight's result could prove to be the difference between staying up and going down.

Bournemouth don't have a good record against the Saints but they are fresh from their 3-1 victory over Everton on Sunday and will hope to spoil the party.

Hosts Southampton have been in good form too. Two wins and a draw against Manchester United isn't a bad way to start the 2019-20 campaign.

Game on.

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