Mark Lawrenson reveals why he thinks Brighton will BEAT Southampton in Monday night clash

Writing in his weekly predictions column for BBC Sport, pundit Mark Lawrenson backed a comfortable 2-0 victory for the Seagulls.

Justifying his prediction, the ex-Liverpool defender claimed: "Southampton have got some good unsung players there including James Ward-Prowse who scored those two cracking goals against Aston Villa and grabbed another in the defeat by Manchester United last week. He'll be a threat again against the Seagulls.

"The manager has done a fabulous job and the club deserve a pat on the back for holding on to him despite that 9-0 defeat against Leicester last year.

"Brighton were good against the Reds in last week's 1-1 draw and have started to look like a decent side. I know they haven't beaten the Saints since they came up to the Premier League but I fancy them to end that run."

Meanwhile, Lawro's sparring partner for the week, Faithless' Sister Bliss, picked a 1-0 win for Graham Potter's men.

The last time the two sides met, back in July, the sides played out a 1-1 draw at St Mary's, with Neal Maupay on the scoresheet for Brighton.

Across their last twenty meetings, the Seagulls have maintained pretty dire record against the Saints, winning on just two occasions - the last of which was in 2012 when both sides were playing in the Championship, and a Matt Sparrow double helped Brighton cruise to victory.