Southampton v FC Midtjylland
Thursday August 20, 20:00
Live on BT Sport Europe

Southampton have taken to Europa League football like the proverbial ducks to water so far, with comfortable victories against Vitesse Arnhem at home and away. That 5-0 aggregate success has left Saints just two games away from the group stage of the Europa League, which would be another milestone in the club's rapid development. You can still read our Southampton season preview here.
Manager Ronald Koeman's has been hobbling around the club on crutches after damaging an Achilles tendon, and that mirrors the way his side have started their Premier League campaign. A 2-2 draw at Newcastle was followed by Saturday's 3-0 hammering at home to Everton. Encouragingly for Saints fans, the players appear to have been fired up by that defeat, andShane Long in particular has highlighted this game against Midtjylland as an opportunity to bounce back quickly.
Southampton certainly have reason to be confident about their home form - before the Everton defeat they had won five of their last six games at St. Mary's, and they had kept clean sheets in four of those outings.
Midtjylland won last season's Danish Superliga title for the first time in their history. Formed in 1999, the club owes much to the unique vision of majority shareholder and Brentford supremo Mathew Benham, and it is run with an emphasis on using data analysis to improve performance and dictate transfer policy.
While results are important, more credence is given to how the team performed. A 3-0 victory may not be as well regarded as a 1-0 defeat, if the team has met certain criteria more often during the loss. It's a jarring way to run a club which some fans may find difficult to accept, but it has been hugely successful.
That said, all is not completely rosy in the Midtjylland garden. Title-winning coach Glen Riddersholm dropped a bombshell when he announced his resignation, after a long-running dispute with Sporting Director Claus Steinlein. Although the Danish champions have made an excellent start to their title defence (four wins and a draw), they lost to Cypriot side APOEL on away goals in the Champions League qualifiers.
Southampton will also be encouraged by the fact that a big chunk of Midtjylland's goals come from set-pieces, and Saints are not only strong at defending those situations, but they leaked just 33 goals in the Premier League last term. To put that into context, champions Chelsea conceded 32.
Koeman is likely to pick a strong side, if his selections against Vitesse are anything to go by.Graziano Pelle is expected to feature after scoring in both legs against Vitesse, and he is [2.05] to score at any time on the Sportsbook. I like the look of Sadio Mane to score at 2.62 - he scored against Vitesse, he gets into great positions, and he excelled in this competition for Red Bull Salzburg.
Although Midtjylland are strong and used to winning, they have lost an inspirational coach, and facing a Premier League side is a big step up from what they are used to. Saints dismissed Vitesse comfortably, and if they pick a strong team they have the quality to build a sizeable first-leg advantage.

Recommended Bets
Back Southampton -1.5 on the Asian Handicap at 2.08

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