SAINTS are expecting one of their biggest attendances of the season again, when they host Norwich on Saturday.

As of yesterday, the club had sold just over 18,500 tickets for the League One match and are expecting in the region of 21,000 to attend Saints’ biggest crowd of the season came in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Brighton.

A total of 21,932 were inside St Mary’s for the match, which was helped by a large travelling contingent.

It was an impressive figure, given that the game was televised live.

Norwich are also expected to bring a decent following from East Anglia.

Last season’s match between the two at St Mary’s attracted just 14,480 people, although it was played on a Tuesday night.

There is an outside chance this weekend’s game could draw the biggest crowd of the campaign, but at the moment it is looking like it won’t quite match the Brighton gate.

Saints have surpassed the 21,000-mark twice this season, with the 3-1 win over MK Dons also breaking that barrier.

Club spokesman Jordan Sibley said: “Once again, we have been extremely encouraged by the response from our supporters.

“The figures are well up on last season, which is fantastic, and we hope that crowd numbers continue to grow as we look to push up the table.

“We are expecting another good crowd at St Mary’s for Saturday’s match against Norwich and would encourage fans to come along to support Alan Pardew and the team.”

Saints’ average league attendance is up by just over 11 per cent on last season.

The club is currently averaging a home gate of 19,843.

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