Southampton ended the weekend in 11th place in the Premier League but only five points above the bottom three. They face a tough game at home to in-form Leicester City who are up to 8th in the table. A late Olivier Giroud goal denied Southampton a home win over Arsenal on Sunday. That was a big blow for the Saints who held the lead for 85 minutes.
It was Charlie Austin who had given them a third minute lead and it’ll be interesting to see if he starts this match. He’s scored five league goals this season and hit the back of the net in each of the last two Southampton games. The start against Arsenal was only his third of the season which is totally baffling considering he has eight goals in the last 11 games he’s started for the Saints.
Form over the past few weeks has been a bit disappointing for the Saints. Their only win in the last seven Premier League games was a 4-1 home win over Everton. It’d be interesting to see how they’d get on against them after the recent improvement by Everton.
Goals are going to be needed in the next couple of weeks with games against Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United on the horizon. They have conceded in their last seven league games and with Leicester in top form at present, it’ll be a massive surprise if that figure doesn’t rise to eight after this match.
This game marks the return to Southampton of their former manager Claude Pulet who was recently appointed boss of Leicester City. His new team arrive in Southampton in top condition. They have only lost one of their last 11 league and cup games and that was to Manchester City. Leicester have moved up to 8th in the table and are only seven points adrift of the Champions League places. Throw in an upcoming Carabao Cup quarter final at home to the league leaders and City are doing pretty well.
They have won their last three Premier League games scoring six goals in the process. Mahrez and Gray have both scored in the last two and all they need now is for Jamie Vardy to rediscover his scoring form now that his wife is out of the jungle and Leicester could climb higher up the table. Earlier in the season they struggled against the top sides and have upcoming games against Manchester United and Liverpool before the end of the year. They did get that win over Spurs though, so those two games will show us just how much City have improved.
Conclusion
Southampton are only five points above the relegation zone and that’s a gap that might just shrink a bit before the end of the year. They have a tough fixture list this month and could easily slide down the table. A lot depends on Charlie Austin at present as long as he’s allowed more time on the pitch. Leicester City are probably in the best shape they’ve been in since winning the Premier League title. They are 8th in the table and European football next season is a possibility. The return to form of Mahrez is a big plus and if Vardy gets going too then they are more than capable of winning this game in a match where both teams score.
The Key Stats
Last Five Premier League Results – Most recent first
Southampton– DDLWL
Leicester City – WWWDL
Head to Head – Last Five League Meetings
22/01/17 – Southampton 3 Leicester City 0
02/10/16 – Leicester City 0 Southampton 0
03/04/16 – Leicester City 1 Southampton 0
17/10/15 – Southampton 2 Leicester City 2
09/05/15 – Leicester City 2 Southampton 0
- Southampton have only lost one of their last 11 home league and cup games against Leicester City.
- The Saints have won two of their last four home league games.
- Ten of the last 13 Southampton home league games have had under 2.5 goals scored in them.
- Southampton have only won one of their last seven Premier League games.
- Southampton have conceded in six of their last seven home league matches.
- Only Manchester City have beaten Leicester City in their last 11 league and cup games.
- Leicester City have won their last three Premier League games.
- Leicester City are unbeaten in their last six away Premier League games but have drawn four of them.
- Leicester City have scored in eight of their last ten away Premier League games.
- Both teams have scored in eight of the last ten Leicester City away games