Southampton will be pleased by Premier League announcement before tough fixture | OneFootball

Premier League has appointed Darren Bond as the referee for Southampton's home fixture against Brighton. Most notably, Bond was in charge of Southampton's nail-biting Carabao Cup victory against Everton.

The dust from Southampton's derby defeat has started to settle and another home game is around the corner. Honestly, the Saints should have been cheering for the upcoming Premier League weekend but the waiting opponent isn't an easy task by any means.

Yes, it's Brighton who falls in a similar emerging top flight team's category as Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. Further, if any Southampton fan had followed their current campaign, they would know that the Seagulls managed a win and a draw against those above mentioned clubs.

Thus, anything apart from an obvious Southampton defeat looks like a fading possibility. Still, there is some hope for the Saints to at least share the points if not squeeze out a narrow win over Brighton.

No, I'm not talking about strategies but rather about good fortune. Let's admit it, Southampton made a brilliant run in the Carabao Cup as compared to their Premier League standings.

Southampton will be pleased by Premier League announcement before tough fixture

An early Everton triumph was a big part of that encouraging campaign. Now, the referee from that clash, Darren Bond, will be present in the Brighton match as well.

In their own words, Sussex World pointed out this stat: "Bond has overseen two Saints matches this season, one being their win against Everton on penalties in the Carabao Cup and then the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in December."

Comparing both matches, Southampton were in a similar out-of-form situation. Plus, the Saints held the visitors to a draw in their backyard and could use that result as a motivation to perform well again.

Hence, these points suggest that Southampton could return to their best performance level on Saturday. After all, every Premier League team has a few unique stats with some particular referees.