Southampton vs. Bournemouth Betting Tips: Back Dominic Solanke to sizzle in the shots market

Nestled among the Premier League's mid-week title clashes and top-four battles is an absolutely pivotal relegation duel between south coast rivals Southampton and Bournemouth, which will be played out at St Mary's on Thursday night, live on BT Sport 3 at 7.45pm...

Southampton head into the game glued to the base of the table, five points adrift of safety and nine points off Bournemouth in 15th.

The Saints are without a win in seven matches dating back to early March and they have the worst home record in the league, picking up just two wins and a total of 10 points in front of their own fans.

On the plus side, recent results include 3-3 draws against Tottenham and Arsenal, while one of their six wins this term did come away to Bournemouth.

As for the Cherries, they were thrashed 4-0 at home to West Ham in their last game, although their form overall has been extremely impressive.

Gary O'Neil's side have won four of their last seven league games, which includes victories over Liverpool and Tottenham. They've also come out on top in three of their previous five away fixtures and beat Southampton 3-1 on their last trip to St Mary's.

A huge relegation battle awaits us, with the hosts installed as the 5/4 favourites with online betting sites to clinch a much-needed three points, Bournemouth are priced at 23/10 to bag their third successive away day win, while a draw can be backed at 5/2.

Below we provide our two best bets for this one...

When it comes to shots, Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke has been posting some pretty impressive numbers of late.

Not only has he accrued at least one shot in each of his last 16 games, in his last four outings he's accumulated five shots against both West Ham and Brighton, plus six against Leicester.

Solanke has surpassed the Over 2.5 Shots count in five of his last six games, making the 11/8 on offer with UniBet a very tempting price - he's odds-on elsewhere - especially given that he's up against a brittle backline which have allowed their four opponents in April a combined total of 60 shots and could be without the influential centre-back Jan Bednarek.

With so much at stake, this has the makings of a somewhat chaotically compelling clash on Thursday night.

Southampton have conceded 56 goals, keeping just four clean sheets, while Bournemouth have leaked in 63 goals, including four in their last game.

Both teams have scored in the last three meetings at St Mary's: a 3-1 win for Bournemouth, a thrilling 3-3 draw, and a 2-1 Saints win.

It could well prove to be a game for the strikers and with that in mind, I'm backing the aforementioned Dominic Solanke (12/5) to find the back of the net for the third time in his last six games.

Southampton's striker woes have been evident from the first game of the season, however, Theo Walcott (23/5 to score anytime) has sparked into life of late with two goals and an assist in his last five games, including a well-taken goal against former club Arsenal last weekend.

Combine these selections together and you get yourself a 13/1 double with UniBet, who offer new customers their Money Back As A Bonus Up To £40 If Your First Bet Loses + £10 casino.