Saints face a Bournemouth side who will be in the mood for goals on Saturday.

The Cherries are unbeaten at the Vitality Stadium so far this season and have scored at least twice in every home tie.

Southampton couldn’t be making the short trip along the south coast at a more difficult time as Bournemouth went into the international break on the back of thrashing Watford 4-0.

Results like that have guided Cherries to their best start to a Premier League season, winning five out of their eight games, drawing once and losing twice.

This early success comes on the back of breaking their transfer record to land Colombian midfielder Jefferson Lerma from Spanish side Levante in a £25m deal.

Manager Eddie Howe also added Welsh youngster David Brooks and Spanish left-back Diego Rico to bolster his side in the summer window.

However, Saints got the better of their neighbours the last time they played when they got a vital 2-1 win at St Mary’s to ease the pressure of relegation.

A brace from Dusan Tadic was enough to see off the Cherries after they got themselves back in the game courtesy of a Josh King goal.

For a reminder of what happened last time the two teams met, click here.

How have Saints fared in their previous six Premier League ties against Bournemouth?

P6 W3 D2 L1

Who has been the opposition's key player this season?

Ryan Fraser has been instrumental in Bournemouth’s electric start to the campaign.

He spoke in the pre-season about how he wanted to take the next step in his career and become the player that his teammates can rely on.

Nicknamed ‘Weeman’, Fraser has started all eight Premier League games so far.

The winger has four goals in all competitions already, which is just two shy of the total the 24-year-old managed last year.

Daily Echo:

Ryan Fraser.

A closer look at the Bournemouth manager.

Howe is now the Premier League’s longest serving manager at just 40-years-old.

He began his playing career at Bournemouth in 1994, going on to make 200 appearances.

Howe then spent two seasons at Portsmouth before moving to Swindon on loan in 2004.

However, at the end of that league campaign he returned to the Cherries and went on to play 53 times over a three-year spell.

After retiring from football in 2007, he took his first management post at Bournemouth in 2008.

Howe then guided the club from the brink of administration into League One.

He left for Burnley in January 2011 but was only there until October 2012, which is when he returned for his second spell in charge of the Cherries.

Howe continued to defy the odds at Bournemouth and took them into the Premier League after they won the Championship in 2015.

Since then, he has guided Bournemouth to a 16th, a ninth and a 12th placed finish.

Daily Echo:

Eddie Howe