Mark Hughes has revealed that Sofiane Boufal has been exiled from Southampton's first team as punishment for his involvement in a bust-up during the Premier League defeat to Chelsea.

"For me, eligibility is not, and should not, be a political issue. Nor should it be a religious issue."

Steven Davis will earn his 100th Northern Ireland cap tomorrow night but he insists the World Cup play-off with Switzerland is more important than such personal landmarks.

Sunderland boss Simon Grayson has no issue with Paddy McNair's inclusion in Northern Ireland's World Cup play-off squad, even though he only returned from an 11-month injury lay-off on Saturday.

Glenn Murray's third goal in two games earned Brighton a point from their south-coast showdown with Southampton.

It was going to take a moment of supreme quality, or abject stupidity, to settle this otherwise drab affair and thankfully it was the former as Southampton's record signing secured their second home win of the season.

Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as Manchester City stormed to the top of the Premier League with a 6-0 rout of Watford at Vicarage Road.

Roy Hodgson's first game as Crystal Palace manager ended in a 1-0 defeat by Southampton as they set two unwanted records at Selhurst Park.

Northern Ireland’s elder statesmen are driven by a desire to feature at a World Cup finals before they call it a day, defender Chris Brunt has said.

Northern Ireland have beaten Czech Republic 2-0 in their World Cup qualifying Group C match at Windsor Park.

Northern Ireland are on the brink of securing second place in their World Cup qualifying group after beating San Marino 3-0 to record their fourth successive victory.

Liam Boyce scored his first Northern Ireland goal in the win over New Zealand to stake his claim for a starting berth in next week's World Cup qualifier in Azerbaijan.

Maya Yoshida and James Ward-Prowse spared Shane Long's blushes as Southampton hit two goals in as many minutes to sink Crystal Palace 3-1 at St Mary's.

Mauricio Pochettino had insisted before this game he was convinced his side could cope with the extended absence of Harry Kane.

Manchester United 3 Southampton 2: THERE was a time, believe it or not, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was described as over-rated. The strutting martial arts enthusiast was labelled a flat-track bully who flattered to deceive on the big stage.

Two men who ran an escort agency in England which employed young girls from troubled backgrounds as child prostitutes have been jailed.

Arsenal 0 Southampton 2: Arsene Wenger’s EFL Cup gamble backfired in spectacular fashion last night as he made 10 changes to an Arsenal side that was comfortably beaten by Southampton, who made it through to the League Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1987.

Southampton 0 Chelsea 2: It is after matches like this that you wonder just quite what happened to Eden Hazard last season.

Substitute Kyle Lafferty scored twice as Northern Ireland recorded a 4-0 victory over minnows San Marino in the first international to be staged at the refurbished Windsor Park.

Southampton secured a valuable point in their bid to progress to the Europa League's knockout stages with a 0-0 draw as Hapoel Be'er Sheva continued their extraordinary undefeated record at the Turner Stadium.

Arsenal’s defensive crisis worsened in Sweden as centre-half Gabriel was stretchered off late in the 3-2 win over Manchester City with what appeared a serious leg injury.

Both countries won one game and exited Euro 2016 at the same stage, but what would the best combined Republic and Northern Ireland team look like? Brendan O’Brien, who swapped between the camps during the tournament and covered all eight games, makes his selection.

Northern Ireland 0 Germany 1: Defeat on the night for Northern Ireland but it was one that ended with history being written as Michael O’Neill’s side advanced to the knockout stages of Euro 2016 thanks to the heroics of Michael McGovern and a Turkish win in Lens.

A Northern Ireland fan has died in France, French police have said.

Spurs 1 Southampton 2: Mauricio Pochettino has warned Tottenham fans they may have to address their obsession with Arsenal to be real title contenders in future after his side lost to Southampton, taking the battle for second place to the final weekend.

Wales 1 Northern Ireland 1

Graziano Pelle ended a four-month wait for a goal with a first-half brace as Southampton defeated Stoke to go up to seventh in the Barclays Premier League table.

Southampton 1 Sunderland 1: Sam Allardyce admits Sunderland are now effectively fighting for a 17th-place finish in their bid to beat the drop.

Swansea 0 Southampton 1: Fraser Forster is among the best goalkeepers in Europe, according to Southampton team-mate Oriol Romeu.

Vardy has recovered from a minor groin surgery in time for tonight's big game.

Norwich 1 Southampton 0: Southampton manager Ronald Koeman openly criticised Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama after disciplinary problems helped condemn the visitors to defeat at Norwich.

It’s the season of goodwill so, with a crazy Premier League season now at its halfway point, what better time to dole out some imaginary festive awards?

Southampton 0 Arsenal 4: Arsene Wenger admitted he is unsure when Jack Wilshere will be back in an Arsenal shirt, after a grim night for the title chasers on the south coast.