20th Sep 2012 | Football
Rickie Lambert Anytime Goalscorer Tip
Having found the net against some of the better sides in the division his confidence should be sky high.
After defeat at the Emirates last weekend, Nigel Adkins proclaimed that Southampton can now start their season, and he has a point. An opening set of fixtures that includes games against Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal is about as tough as it gets.
Despite sitting bottom of the league, Saints fans should be encouraged by their team’s performances. They managed to score against each of last season’s top-3 and were unlucky to draw a blank against Wigan.
Much of Southampton’s attacking play is focused around target man Rickie Lambert. A regular goalscorer at lower levels, he looks capable of making the step up in class with two goals in four games.
The Saints host an Aston Villa team who’ve had a stuttering start to the season. An encouraging win against Swansea was largely achieved by some goalkeeping heroics from Brad Guzan. A first clean sheet of the season only masks their defensive frailties.
In a contest between two sides who look better going forward than defending, we can expect plenty of goals. With a 60% strike rate for Southampton, I’d be surprised if Rickie Lambert couldn’t get his name on the score sheet at 2/1 with Stan James.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 12:33 20th Sep, 2012 but subject to change
