Preview: Southampton vs Fulham – Can the Saints shut the Cottagers down?
Can Southampton beat Fulham?
Date: Saturday 26th September
Venue: St Mary’s Stadium
K.O: 17.15
Southampton will look to keep their good run of form going, a run that includes last week’s draw at Old Trafford but they face a stiff challenge from Fulham who hammered Crystal Palace 4-1 on Monday night.
Team News:
Southampton
Mauricio Pochettino’s only worry is Steven Davis however he should recover from a knock in time for Saturday.
Fulham
Fulham have a number of injuries and minor knocks that should be overcome by the time kick off comes around. Brede Hangeland, Bryan Ruiz, Matthew Briggs and Aaron Hughes are those who could miss out.
Recent Form:
Southampton have only lost one game this season and find themselves unbeaten in the last four league games. A 1-1 draw away to Manchester United and a 1-0 victory at Anfield have been part of this run of form which sees the Saints sixth in the Premier League.
Their defence is their strongest point with three clean sheets and just one goal conceded in the last four games.
Fulham’s form has improved in the last couple of weeks with victories over Stoke City and Crystal Palace which ended a five match winless streak stretching back to the second game of the season.
They are also looking dangerous going forward with six goals in their last four matches.
Players to Watch
Southampton – Dejan Lovren
Of Southampton’s three big money summer signings the Croatia international has by far been the best. He has been in excellent form in the division’s best defence while Victor Wanyama and especially Pablo Osvaldo have yet to really hit their stride.
The centre back has won 16 of the 20 tackles he has contested, an impressive 80% and is dominant in the air winning 73% of areal duels.
His Squawka Performance Score of 322 makes him the best defender in the Premier League, ahead of Leighton Baines and John Terry who score slightly less, 319.
Lovren also completes 80% of passes and averages two interceptions per match.
He has one goal this season, the winner against Liverpool. During that match he also won two thirds of tackles and headers.
Fulham – Pajtim Kasami
Martin Jol may have been overly hyperbolic by describing Kasami’s wonder strike against Crystal Palace as better than Marco Van Basten’s famous Holland goal however the effort was certainly worthy of the plaudits it received.
It also brought to the fore the good form the midfielder has been in this season. He has the club’s second highest Performance Score of 134. From midfield he has scored twice with 64% of his shots hitting the target.
His pass accuracy is 77% and he has created four chances while he has also won 77% of tackles which makes him a decent all round player.
Prediction
Normal service will be resumed for both clubs with Southampton picking up a clean sheet and Fulham going back to losing ways.
Pochettino’s front line will finally click and a relative hammering will be on the cards.
Southampton 3-0 Fulham