Will Smallbone nutmegs Douglas Luiz on the right wing and is bundled over as payback.

James Ward-Prowse whips in the free-kick and it's headed clear by Tyrone Mings. How important will he be for Villa today?

The corner is easy for Villa to deal with, but Saints keep the pressure on.

Alex McCarthy boots it straight down the pitch and the Villa defence struggle to get it clear before heading it behind for a corner.

Blimey, can already see why these sides have such poor defensive records.

Aston Villa get the game under way at St Mary's. And Jack Grealish has an early chance to put the ball into the box but hits a low cross straight to home goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

Southampton beat Villa 3-1 in the reverse fixture, the final game before Christmas, and went on to claim 13 points from a possible 15 to help themselves climb clear of the relegation zone.

Yet Saints have still conceded more home goals than anyone else in the Premier League this season while Villa have conceded the most away. They've also conceded the most overall.

Naturally, that means we'll probably have to sit through a 0-0 today.

Mark Lawrenson
Ex-Liverpool defender

I am going to go with Aston Villa here, even if the amount of goals they are conceding is a concern because it is the most in the division.

That has to change, but Villa have the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City next week and head coach Dean Smith can motivate his players by telling them they are playing for a place at Wembley.

Prediction: 1-2.

Lawro's full predictions v This Country stars Daisy May and Charlie Cooper

Dion Dublin
Former Man Utd striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

Villa aren't bad going forward. They still haven't scored enough goals and there's too much on Jack Grealish's shoulders but I think Villa have enough to get out of the mess, I really do.

Jermaine Beckford
Ex-Leeds Utd striker on Football Focus

Jack Grealish is one of my favourite players in the Premier League right now. He has so much pressure on his shoulders and you just don’t see it. He leads by example and he is a general on the field.

Image source, PA Media

What a week it's been for young Will Smallbone.

On Friday the Southampton midfielder celebrated his 20th birthday. A day later he's named in the Saints' starting line-up and will make his Premier League debut.

Southampton have made three changes to the side which lost 2-1 at home to Burnley last week.

On-loan defender Kyle Walker-Peters (calf) and Morocco international Sofiane Boufal (ankle) came off during that game and Walker-Peters is out while Boufal has dropped to the bench.

Jannik Vestergaard has also dropped out of the Saints' starting line-up so in come Jan Bednarek, Moussa Djenepo and Will Smallbone, a 20-year-old midfielder who makes his Premier League debut.

Southampton starting XI: Alex McCarthy, Moussa Djenepo, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, Ryan Bertrand, Will Smallbone, James Ward-Prowse, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Danny Ings, Stuart Armstrong, Shane Long.

Subs: Jannik Vestergaard, Che Adams, Oriol Romeu, Sofiane Boufal, Michael Obafemi, Yan Valery, Angus Gunn.

Aston Villa feature two changes to the side which suffered a last-gasp 3-2 defeat at home to Tottenham last Sunday.

Villa were expecting Tyrone Mings to return after missing the Spurs game due to tonsillitis and the England defender comes into the side along with Marvelous Nakamba.

Bjorn Engels and Danny Drinkwater have both dropped to the bench for Villa.

Villa starting XI: Pepe Reina, Kortney Hause, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Frederic Guilbert, Marvelous Nakamba, Douglas Luiz, Matt Targett, Anwar El Ghazi, Jack Grealish, Mbwana Samatta.

Subs: Danny Drinkwater, Conor Hourihane, Trezeguet, Borja Baston, Bjorn Engels, Ahmed El Mohamady, Orjan Nyland.