Free-kick right on the edge of the area for Southampton! Gabbiadini is brought down by Walters, just yards from the penalty area. Davis and Redmond stand over the ball... Davis strikes, but his effort is straight into the wall, his follow-up attempt is then straight at Butland who comfortably gathers.
90' +2
Muniesa enters the game and replaces X. Shaqiri.
A late Potters change, with the recently booked Shaqiri, coming off and he is reaplced by Marc Muniesa.
90'
J. Stephens gets yellow.
X. Shaqiri gets yellow.
There will be a minimum of four minutes added time played here.
A yellow card is shown to Shaqiri, for a coming together with Stephens. Shaqiri failed to get the end of Crouch's pass and kicked out at the intercepting Stephens.
Stephens is also cautioned for squaring up with Shaqiri.
89'
A lot of Southampton supporters are starting to head for the exits now, the Saints have struggled to break down this solid Stoke defence and find away past the superb Butland this afternoon.
86'
J. Pied enters the game and replaces J. Ward-Prowse.
Third and final Southampton substitute, Ward-Prowse comes off for Pied, which gets boos around St Mary's. The 'you don't know what you're doing' chants ring around the stadium from the home fans.
85'
Stoke are now in the ascendency and are looking to double their lead in the closing stages of this game. Walters tees up Allen on the edge of the box, but the midfielder's strike is deflected over. Saints clear the danger from the corner.
82'
ANOTHER GREAT SAVE! Butland once again keeps Southampton out, with two fantastic saves in quick succession! Unbelievable from Butland, who dives one way but blocks another the strike from Boufal with his outstretched leg. In comes a Southampton corner and Butland is there to block Gabbiadini at the back post. He will not be beaten.
80'
WHAT A CHANCE! Gabbiadini is played through on goal and there is no offside flag! The striker only has Butland to beat and the Stoke keeper slips as he approaches the Saints striker, however Butland still manages to pull off a great save to deny Gabbiadini, the rebound then hits the striker and goes out for a goal-kick. Superb save by Butland, but Gabbiadini really should have scored!
79'
STAT: Stoke are on course for only their second victory in their last 11 games, having won just one of their last 10 Premier League matches (D3, L6).
Minute
Description
77'
It's all Stoke at the moment, they are winning all of the second balls and look the more dangerous side. A good period for the visitors sees them have back-to-back set pieces, but they can't open up an goalscoring opportunities.
75'
GREAT CHANCE! Shawcross misses a huge chance to double Stoke's lead! The Potters skipper somehow puts the ball over the bar from two yards out! Luckily for the Stoke defender, the offside flag is up to spare his blushes.
73'
CLOSE! Southampton go agonisingly close to scoring an equalising goal here. Butland denies Southampton twice, with the keeper getting up smartly after his initial stop to deny Ward-Porwse's powerful follow-up, after Martins Indi and Butland combined to save the first attempt.
72'
STAT: Peter Crouch is the first player to score 50 headed Premier League goals! Impressive stuff.
70'
J. Walters enters the game and replaces M. Diouf.
S. Boufal gets yellow.
The Potters now make their first substitution of the game with Diouf the man heading off the pitch and he is replaced by Jonathan Walters.
Plenty of yellow cards being shown here as the game becomes more and more scrappy, with the Saints pushing forward in search of an equaliser. Boufal is the latest player to be cautioned by the referee.
67'
Ramadan Sobhi gets yellow.
Another Stoke player is shown a yellow card, this time it is Ramadan Sobhi for blatantly bring Boufal down as he looked to break forward.
65'
M. Gabbiadini enters the game and replaces C. Austin.
S. Boufal enters the game and replaces D. Tadić.
The first of a double substitution by Southampton as Dušan Tadić comes off and he is replaced by Sofiane Boufal.
Charlie Austin is substituted on his returning to the Saints starting line-up after five months out injured, he is replaced by Manolo Gabbiadini. The home supporters don't sound too happy with that change, perhaps wanting to see both strikers up front together.
63'
G. Whelan gets yellow.
A yellow card is shown to Glenn Whelan for his cynical challenge on Redmond, which led to the Saints free-kick.
Southampton look for an immediate response and Redmond sees a shot blocked away. He gathers the ball again and wins a foul off Whelan, a good chance for the Saints to get the ball into the box... The ball into the penalty area is poor and Butland easily gathers.
60'
P. Crouch has scored a goal for Stoke City! Assist by G. Cameron.
GOOOAAALLL! CROUCH SCORES! The Potters take the lead on the hour mark and it is the veteran striker who gives the visitors the lead. It was a fantastic chipped ball into the box by Cameron, Crouch makes his way to the far post and easily beats Cedric in the air, to power a header into the back of the net.
It was a perfectly timed ball into the box by Cameron, he did well down the left wing to find space for the cross, before putting the ball perfectly onto the head of Crouch, who was never going to miss from there!
58'
This is much better by the Potters, they are now the side of the front foot and are not letting Southampton settle down. Crouch is constantly causing problems in the box, a cross comes in and Yoshida has to head the ball over his own bar. The resulting corner comes in and Forster flaps at the ball, it then bounces around the six-yard box before Saints finally clear the lines.
55'
Ramadan Sobhi step-overs his way all the way to the byline but Stephens sticks with him and blocks the ball out for a corner... The set piece comes into the box and met by Diouf, but his header goes well wide of the Saints goal.
53'
J. Allen gets yellow.
Allen is the first player to be shown a yellow card this afternoon after kicking the ball away, following a free-kick decision that went against him.
51'
OFFSIDE! Tadic is caught offside, it was a good ball behind the Stoke defence by Austin, but he delayed his pace for too long and Tadic strayed offside! The Serbian kept going and smashed the ball into the back of the net, but the whistle had already gone.
50'
The pace of the game has dropped off significantly at the start of this second half. Southampton are playing the ball around with ease, but there is a lack of intensity and they are barely getting into the Potters half at the moment. The home supporters don't sound too pleased, they will be eager to end this season on a high.
48'
STAT: Southampton's only win in their last seven Premier League games came against relegated Middlesbrough (D3, L3).
46'
The second half is underway!
45' +3
That's the half-time whistle!
45' +2
OFF THE BAR! Huge mistake by Butland, he dwells under pressure from Redmond way out of his own penalty area, Redmond nicks the ball off his toes and attempts an audacious lob, but it hits the bar, with Butland sprinting back! So unlucky from Redmond. Huge let off for the Stoke keeper! What an end to the first half.
45' +1
OFF THE LINE! Diouf has a header cleared off the goalline! So close for Stoke at the end of the first half! Saints fail to clear the danger and Diouf gets up highest, but Cedric is the hero, heading the ball off the line!
45'
There will be a minimum of two minutes added time played here.
42'
Good block by Stephens to deflect Shaqiri's shot at goal wide and out for a corner. It was good build-up play by the Potters, by Ramadan Sobhi laying the ball through to his teammate. The resulting corner is initially cleared by the Saints, however the ball then falls to Shaqiri on the edge of the box, but his powerful effort at goal goes high over the bar.
40'
As we enter the final five minutes of the first-half, the score remains goalless here, with chances being and few and far between. Can either side break the deadlock before the break?
38'
A few groans can be heard around St Mary's as the hosts look short of ideas at the moment, they are struggling to work the ball into decent positions and after not seeing a goal in three games, the home supporters are beginning to voice their frustration.
36'
STAT: Saints have lost just once in 10 final-day home games in the Premier League (W5, D4), a defeat by Manchester United in 2005 which confirmed their relegation.
34'
CHANCE! Excellent opportunity for Southampton to take the lead, it was great link-up play by Redmond and Bertrand, the latter skips past Diouf and plays a low cross into the box for Austin, however under heavy pressure from Martins Indi, the striker puts the ball wide of the goal. Good chance for the Saints, but Austin was the only player to aim for in the penalty area.
32'
The Potters get a free-kick in a decent area now. Crouch will surely be the target... However the ball into the area fails to beat the first man. Forster eventually gathers and sets up a counter-attack, looking for Redmond who is sprinting down the pitch, but Ryan Shawcross does well to get back and clear the danger.
30'
However the set piece is well defended by Southampton and they clear their lines. Stoke come again but with no real intent and Forster gathers the ball, to mount another Saints attack.
29'
Brief stoppage in play here as Yoshida remains down following the challenge, the resulting corner is about to come into the box by Shaqiri...
27'
WHAT A TACKLE! Maya Yoshida gets back in the nick of time to deny Crouch. Cedric's poor back-pass is too short and Crouch thinks he's through...but Yoshida just gets there to slide in. Potentially a goal saving challenge! Both players are hurt in the process.
24'
Poor tackle by Diouf close to the penalty area, he brings Redmond down and Saints now have a free-kick in a very good position. James Ward-Prowse whips it into the box, it goes all the way to the back post where Stephens is lurking, he puts the ball back in the six-yard box and the ball flies around the area before Redmond fires a shot at goal, but he gets it horribly wrong!
22'
Great run by Xherdan Shaqiri, he runs along the line of the Saints defence and the ball is played through by Joe Allen, however Shaqiri can't get a good enough touch on the ball and the ball runs through to Forster. The winger doesn't look too happy with the ball he received from his teammate.
20'
Southampton continue to dominate possession of the ball here, they look in complete control and are enjoying a lot of success down their left wing, as they look to exploit the 3-4-3 formation that the Potters appear to be playing today. Geoff Cameron and Diouf are barely getting forward into attacking positions.
17'
Stoke are being penned inside their own final third at the moment, with Redmond and Ryan Bertrand causing all sorts of problems down the left flank. Diouf defends well to deny Bertrand, however he then completely slices his clearance, much to the amusement of the home fans! Saints come again.
15'
Great defending by Glenn Whelan! Charlie Austin holds the ball up well and then plays a ball in behind the Potters defence to Dusan Tadic, he is through on goal with just Jack Butland to beat, however his touch is too heavy and it allows Whelan to make a superb tackle to block his effort.
13'
STAT: Stoke are seven points worse off than they were at this stage last season, perhaps due to their poor start to the season. The Potters are on 41 points, one fewer than their lowest total in a full Premier League season, set in 2012-13.
10'
Peter Crouch does very well to chest the ball down in the box and flick the ball over the head of Jack Stephens, the striker then tries to take a shot at goal. However, it was excellent defending by Cedric to get back and clear the ball out for a corner, good covering by the right-back. The resulting set piece comes to nothing.
9'
Stoke are chasing shadows at the moment, it is all the home side playing the ball around with ease. However, they are failing to break into the Potters final third and it is all pretty simple defending for the visitors. A good opening few minutes by both sides, has now seen the game settle down.
7'
The home supporters at St Mary's have only seen 17 Premier League goals from their side, only Sunderland have scored less at home. Plus the Saints haven't scored in their last three home games, they haven't gone four goalless in their Premier League history.
5'
Head-to-head: Southampton have won just one of their four home games against Stoke in the Premier League. However, five of the nine Premier League meetings between the two sides have ended in draws.
3'
Good start by both sides here, Saints have recovered from a shaky first 30 seconds and now they look the more dangerous side with Nathan Redmond looking in the mood down the left wing. The winger gets a couple of good balls into the box but none of his teammates are on the same wavelength and Stoke can see the ball out for a goal-kick.
1'
We're underway!
EARLY CHANCE! Excellent opportunity within the first few seconds of the game by Stoke! The Saints lost possession of the ball straight away from kick-off and the Potters almost made them pay. Mame Biram Diouf forces Fraser Forster into making a superb save down to his left, after Saints fell asleep, the resulting corner comes to nothing.
Good afternoon and welcome to our LIVE match commentary of the Premier League clash between Southampton and Stoke City at St Marys.
Southampton manager Claude Puel will be hoping to end the season on a high, despite speculation that Puel will be replaced at the end of the season, with Hull manager Marco Silva being tipped for the job.
Meanwhile, Stoke City boss Mark Hughes is hoping to end the campaign on a high with victory against the Saints. the Potters head to the south coast having won only one of their last 10 matches and it is a run which has contributed to what will be the club's lowest league finish under Hughes, after ending each of the last three seasons in ninth place.
Shane Long will miss the game with a broken metatarsal. Meanwhile, Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand are both doubts, but Charlie Austin is pushing for his first start since December due to injury. Marko Arnautovic looks set to miss the trip to St Mary's, after the midfielder was substituted against Arsenal last weekend with a shoulder injury.
So what do the two sides have to play for today?
Southampton sit eighth in the table and can't move higher, they can however lose £3.8m and drop to 10th if they lose today and other results go against them. Meanwhile, Stoke currently 14th, could move as high as 11th if they win at Saints. This would hand Stoke an extra £5.7m, but they could also drop to 17th, and more likely 16th, if they lose, Burnley get a draw and Watford beat Man City.
SAINTS SUBS: Clasie, Caceres, Boufal, Gabbiadini, Hojbjerg, Pied, Taylor
TEAM NEWS: Both managers have made two changes for the final Premier League game of the season. For Southampton, Charlie Austin leads the line in place of Manolo Gabbiadini, while Ryan Bertrand comes back in at left-back for Matt Targett. Meanwhile for the visitors, Peter Crouch comes in for Marko Arnautovic and Ramadan Sobhi replaces Glen Johnson.
The teams are out here at St Marys and kick-off is almost upon us. Stay tuned for all of the match action!
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 0-0 STOKE
An end to end game so far here at St Marys. Diouf had two great chances to score for the Potters, one within the very first minute and one right at the end of the half! Southampton have enjoyed more possession, but good Stoke defending has kept the score goalless.
FULL-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 0-1 STOKE
Peter Crouch's header sealed all three points for Stoke here today, to the disappointment of the home supporters who will not be happy with their sides final performance of the season. However, Butland had to produce a series of superb saves to deny the Saints a happy ending to the campaign.
That's all from us today folks, we hope you enjoyed the game!
Commentary
More…