RONALD Koeman has warned Southampton to expect an ‘aggressive’ Burnley at St Mary’s tomorrow.

The Clarets travel to the south coast to face a side they beat 1-0 at Turf Moor in December, when Ashley Barnes netted following Dusan Tadic’s penalty miss.

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Koeman remains frustrated by that defeat and believes that the Clarets will opt for a direct style of play tomorrow, having suggested at Turf Moor that Sean Dyche’s men had gone long on a number of occasions.

“Yeah, they beat us but it wasn’t a very good game that day and we missed a penalty,” Koeman said yesterday. “It was a stupid goal against us but, of course, we analyse always the opponent and we play 11 against 11 and then one team is playing like Burnley.

“Sometimes it is difficult to prepare a training session for the match, but we expect an aggressive opponent who will press us with direct play.

“That is always difficult because they don’t give you time to play and you have to prepare for that.”

Koeman says he has seen a reaction from Graziano Pelle after dropping him in the league for the first time.

The goals have dried up for the Italian after a great start to life in the Premier League, and he was replaced in the starting line-up by Shane Long in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

Pelle ran straight down the tunnel at the final whistle.

“There has been a little bit of a reaction, yes, because nobody is happy to stay on the bench,” the Saints boss said.

“Sometimes you need a reaction off the player in that situation.”

Eljero Elia comes back into contention after missing last week’s match through injury.