Barclays Premier League

SWANS EARN POINT AS SOUTHAMPTON CRUMBLE

Southampton and Swansea go home with a point each after a 1-1 draw at St Mary's Stadium. Nigel Adkins cut a relieved figure when the Saints went in front on 64 minutes, but witnessed his side self-destruct by handing the Swans a point on a plate not long after. It was a game that pundits had suggested that Adkins simply had to win in order to keep his job, and after a first half that lacked action and which the visitors arguably had the better of, it seemed as though Southampton were heading down a well-trodden path. But back out for the second period, the home side looked a different outfit. Adam Lallana, Gaston Ramirez and Rickie Lambert shone, as the Saints went looking for a win that would lift them off the foot of the Premier League table. And after dominating possession for much of the half, their rewards came on 64 minutes. Lambert nodded the ball back across the box after a cross from deep and Morgan Schneiderlin was there to chest the ball beautifully with one touch and head in past Gerhard Tremmel with the next. But, as has been the case throughout the Saints' season, less than 10 minutes later, they crumbled. A poor clearance from Paulo Gazzaniga to Maya Yoshida was pounced upon by Swansea substitute Nathan Dyer, who raced through on goal and finished coolly into the far corner to net against his former employers. In the grand scheme of things, it was probably a deserved point for the visitors. But it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to ensure Nigel Adkins still has a job come Monday.

FULL TIME

That's it. Southampton and Swansea go home with a point each, but it's really a story of the Saints squandering all three points.

INJURY

Ki Sung-Yueng is having to limp off for treatment here. The Southampton fans don't like the stoppage, but the South Korean looks to be genuinely hurt.

THREE MINUTES OF ADDED TIME

There will be three minutes of added time in this one. Without sounding too dramatic, is it three minutes for Nigel Adkins to save his job?

YELLOW CARD

Substitute Kemy Agustien is booked for a late challenge on Morgan Schneiderlin.

END-TO-END

This is more like it. The fans are really getting behind both sets of players to spur them on to grab a winner. Less than two minutes left of normal time.

SWANSEA SUB

Kemy Agustien replaces Jonathan De Guzman.

CONTROVERSIAL CALL

Adam Lallana displays excellent skill and tenacity to trick his way past a couple of Swansea challenges. The Saints skipper makes his way into the box and is bundled over by Garry Monk, who appears to unceremoniously heave Lallana off the ball. No foul, says Andre Marriner.

PETERING OUT

Very little urgency being displayed from both sides. You'd think that Southampton in particular would be desperate to grab a winner here. Certainly doesn't seem like it at this stage.

LASHED OVER

The ball pops up for Jack Cork on the edge of the box, inviting the Saints midfielder to hit it - and he does, but it flies well over the bar.

NODDED WIDE

A glancing header by Rickie Lambert from an Adam Lallana corner goes agonisingly wide for the Saints. This game could really go either way, with just less than 15 minutes to play.

SOUTHAMPTON SUB

Daniel Fox is on for the youngster Luke Shaw.

MORE ON THAT GOAL!

Deary me. Southampton have gifted Swansea an equaliser. Paulo Gazzaniga's poor clearance to Maya Yoshida is chased down by Dyer - a former Saints apprentice - and he races in on goal before finishing well past the goalkeeper's despairing dive. The ball goes in via the far post.

GOAL!

Nathan Dyer scores for Swansea!

CAN THEY HOLD ON?

Southampton have just over 20 minutes to hold on for only their second win of this campaign. They enjoyed almost 90% of the possession in the time before opening the scoring, but look to have sat back since then, allowing Swansea a spell of their own on top.

SWANSEA SUB

Itay Shechter is on the field for Leon Britton.

MORE ON THAT GOAL!

After a strong spell of pressure from the home side, their efforts have paid off. A ball into the box is headed back in by Rickie Lambert towards Morgan Schneiderlin, who does brilliantly to control the ball with his chest with his first touch and head in past Tremmel with his second. Nigel Adkins cuts a very relieved figure on the Saints bench. His side are ahead, and deservedly so.

GOAL!

Morgan Schneiderlin scores for Southampton!

YELLOW CARD

Adam Lallana is booked for simulation, as he goes down in the box under pressure from Ashley Williams. Probably the right call.

MORE PRESSURE

Southampton are really on top now, flooding forward and playing some good football. Gerhard Tremmel is yet to be tested, though, with Swansea defending valiantly.

AGONISING ATTACK

Almost a great chance for Southampton to take the lead. Some neat passing in the box nearly gives Rickie Lambert an opportunity to shoot, but the ball in to the big striker doesn't have enough on it, and Ki Sung-Yueng is able to get back to clean up.

SWANSEA SUB

And that's Wayne Routledge's last contribution to the game, as he's replaced by Nathan Dyer.

ACRES OF SPACE

Wayne Routledge squanders a great chance for Swansea, after the visitors countered brilliantly. The ball falls to the winger on the edge of the box. In acres of space, he shoots first time but pumps the ball miles over the bar. Should have done better.

GOOD SPELL FOR SAINTS

Southampton are enjoying a good spell of possession here. Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert are at the centre of the home side's attacks, but neither can fashion an opening.

WAYWARD ATTEMPT

Angel Rangel strikes from outside the box. It's wayward, but flicks off a Southampton body and behind for a corner.

FRUSTRATED FIGURE

Michu hasn't had the impact for Swansea that Michael Laudrup would have hoped. He looks particularly frustrated up top all on his own, and actually came out of the dressing room a number of minutes before his team-mates and just stood waiting in the tunnel. His frustration is increased when he's caught late on a trek up the field, only for the referee to wave play on.

BACK UNDERWAY

Southampton get things going for the second period.

HALF TIME

Southampton are yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season, but they go into the break on level terms with Swansea this afternoon, with neither side having yet broken the deadlock.

ONE MINUTE ADDED ON

Just the solitary minute will be added on at the end of the first half.

SPECTACULAR EFFORT

Lallana tricks his way past Leon Britton on the left flank, and from a wicked angle, attempts to curl the ball into the far post. His effort is not far off - probably the closest Southampton have come to opening the scoring, in fact - and it would have been some goal had it gone in.

PENALTY SHOUT

Adam Lallana tussles with Angel Rangel in the Swansea box, and goes down under the challenge of the Spaniard. But the referee is having none of it and brushes off any calls for a penalty.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Ramirez takes the free kick himself, from about 30 yards out. Instead of going for goal, he floats the ball to the back post where Jose Fonte is lurking, but the defender can't quite turn it into an opportunity, with a Swansea defender getting across well to block any attempted shot.

YELLOW CARD

Ashley Williams cynically hauls down Gaston Ramirez as the Uruguayan surges forward, and duly follows Schneiderlin into the book. Yellow card for the Swans centre back, and free kick to Southampton.

YELLOW CARD

Neat passing in the centre circle from Swansea, as they look to play themselves out of trouble. Morgan Schneiderlin catches Leon Britton quite late and with that, becomes the first name in the referee's book this afternoon.

AREA OF TARGET

Swansea appear to be targetting Southampton's 17-year-old left back Luke Shaw, with Pablo Hernandez running at the youngster many times already. It might be their game plan, but to his credit, Shaw has gone by his business very efficiently so far.

ANOTHER SIGHTING

Another decent attempt from Gaston Ramirez, who floats the ball in left-footed just wide of Gerhard Tremmel's far post. Jonathan De Guzman gave the ball away to the Uruguayan, who almost made the Swans midfielder pay.

ALMOST A COSTLY ERROR

Swansea look very comfortable in possession, but just have a lapse in concentration for a moment, allowing Rickie Lambert to intercept a pass and play the ball into Adam Lallana. Lallana tries to pick out the onrushing Puncheon, but the winger is denied an opening by a last-gasp sliding block by a Swans defender.

LOVELY FEET

Swansea play a short corner into Ki Sung-Yueng, who shows a lovely change of feet before thrashing the ball into the side netting. Decent effort.

JUST WIDE

Another decent effort for the home side, as Gaston Ramirez flashes an attempt just wide of the post. Moments earlier, Nathaniel Clyne appeared to have a case for a penalty when Ashley Williams tugged him back in the area. The Saints full back stayed on his feet and the referee waved play on.

NEAT INTERPLAY

Southampton are pushing lots of men forward here. Lambert plays the ball into Adam Lallana on the edge of the box, who lets it run across him before unleashing a shot into the corner of Gerhard Tremmel's goal. The goalkeeper gets down well to deny the Saints captain an opener, though.

WASTED OPPORTUNITY

Another promising attack for the home side, as Puncheon, inside the box with his back to goal, lays the ball off to Morgan Schneiderlin, whose shot flies well over the bar. The midfielder is frustrated that his team-mate's pass was too heavy.

DECENT ATTACK

Nice trickery on the right flank from Jason Puncheon, who takes the ball to the byline and crosses low in the direction of Rickie Lambert. The ball in is just behind the Saints striker, though, which allows Swansea to clear.

POSITIVE START

Lots of possession in these early stages for Swansea. They're yet to create an opening or have a shot on goal, though.

ALMOST IN

A ball over the top of the Southampton defence almost allows Wayne Routledge to wriggle through on goal. The Swansea winger fails to get the ball under control, though, which gives the Saints defence time to clear up.

WE'RE OFF

After St Mary's Stadium observes a minute's silence to remember those who have lost their lives in armed conflict, Swansea get things underway, kicking left to right.

SWANSEA TEAM

Swansea are unchanged from last weekend's 1-1 draw with Chelsea, with Garry Monk continuing at centre half. Luke Moore replaces the injured Danny Graham on the bench. FULL LINE-UP: Tremmel, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Davies, Ki, Britton, de Guzman, Hernandez, Michu, Routledge. SUBS: Cornell, Tate, Dyer, Shechter, Moore, Tiendalli, Agustien.

SOUTHAMPTON TEAM

Three changes for Southampton from the side that lost 2-0 to West Brom last weekend. Jason Puncheon replaces Steven Davis, and 17-year-old Luke Shaw starts at left back, becoming the club's youngest ever Premier League starter in the process. Meanwhile Jack Cork returns to make his first top-flight appearance since the final day of the 2009/10 season, when he scored for Burnley in a 4-2 win over Spurs. FULL LINE-UP: Gazzaniga, Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Puncheon, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Lambert, Ramirez. SUBS: Kelvin Davis, Hooiveld, Steven Davis, Rodriguez, Fox, Ward-Prowse, Mayuka.

KICK-OFF - 1500 GMT

Join us just before kick-off for all the team news and all the action from St Mary's.

SWANSEA EARLY TEAM NEWS

Club captain Garry Monk is to deputise at the heart of the Swansea defence, with Chico Flores doubtful having suffered a dead leg. Michel Vorm and Kyle Bartley are definitely out.

SOUTHAMPTON EARLY TEAM NEWS

Goalkeeper Artur Boric is available for Southampton after being subject to an investigation by his club over claims that he launched a bottle into the crowd two weeks ago. The Saints' Olympic star Jack Cork is back in contention after a knee injury that has so far limited him to just one cup appearance this season, while Frazer Richardson is nearing a comeback following a groin strain.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This will be the first meeting between the sides since 2008/09, when Swansea took four points in the Championship. The sides drew 2-2 at St Mary's, but the Swans won 3-0 at home; current Wigan star Jordi Gomez scored in both matches for Swansea. Today's visitors haven't won in any of their last eight trips to Southampton, last taking all three points in a 4-1 win at The Dell in March 1953 – when neither of today's managers were even born. Looking further back, Southampton have dominated this fixture at home, winning 21 of 29 encounters while losing and drawing four apiece. They've outscored the Swans 71-29 in that time.

SWANS LOOK TO GET BACK ON TRACK

Swansea raced out of the blocks at the beginning of this season. It looked initially as if losing the likes of Scott Sinclair and Joe Allen during the summer hadn't fazed them, as they picked up maximum points from their opening two games. In the eight games since then, though, they've only managed to match that points tally, meaning they go into today's clash with Southampton in 11th place on 12 points. Away from home, the Swans haven't managed to net since bagging five on the opening day against QPR at Lofus Road. Boss Michael Laudrup said in midweek that he was wary of Southampton's motivation in today's fixture, but will see it as a perfect opportunity to get his side's season back on track.

MAKE OR BREAK FOR SAINTS BOSS

This game could be make-or-break for Southampton boss Nigel Adkins. His side have picked up just four points in their opening 10 games back in the top flight, meaning they remain rooted to the bottom of the pile as it stands. The Saints have shipped goals far too easily on the road: four at West Ham, six at Arsenal, three at Everton and three at Leeds in the Capital One Cup. The 28 goals they've conceded in the league so far is the most since Barnsley matched that number to begin the 1997/98 season. At home though, their fortunes have been slightly better. They took Manchester United to the wire, losing 3-2 in the final minutes, and thumped Aston Villa 4-1 for their only three points of the campaign to date. Meanwhile, games against Spurs (1-2) and Fulham (2-2) saw them come agonisingly close to victories. So it's not all doom and gloom. But nevertheless, the pressure has been on Adkins for a number of games. A win today is a must; for the sake of his job and Southampton's Premier League survival.

THE MATCH

Southampton host Swansea at the St Mary's Stadium in the Premier League this afternoon. The home side will be looking for an overdue win to lift them off the foot of the table, while the visitors will have their eyes fixed on a place in the top half. Kick-off is 1500 GMT.