Date: Saturday, 26th October Venue: St Mary's Stadium Kick-Off: 17:30 BST Will it be Southampton or Fulham who keep up their recent good form and continue the climb up the Premiership table?
Team News
Northern Ireland captain Steve Davis is set to have a late fitness test after picking up a knock in training. Gastón Ramírez is available once again, after missing the trip to Old Trafford due to illness. Fulham duo Brede Hangeland and Bryan Ruiz are both doubts to make the trip down south. Source: @SouthamptonFC @FulhamFC
Key Facts
Head-to-Head It was been 78 years since Fulham last won at Southampton on the South-Coast. Fulham are unbeaten in the last 7 games between the two teams (2 wins, 5 draws). Southampton Southampton have only conceded three goals this season, the best in the Premiership and second in Europe only behind Roma (1 goal conceded). And only six Premiership teams have conceded less goals after 8 games than the Saints have. Southampton are unbeaten in the last 5 league games. It has been Southampton best top-flight start since the 1983-84 season where they finished second behind Liverpool. Fulham Victory at St Mary's would be Fulhams's 3rd victory on the trot, the last time Fulham achieved this was March 2012. Only fellow London teams Arsenal and Tottenham have won more games away from home than Fulham (3 compared to Fulham's 2)
Match Preview
After a spell of bad results for Fulham, two wins in their last two games seems to suggest Martin Jol has turned his teams form around, just weeks after a few fans were calling for his dismissal. A sound 1-0 triumph over Stoke and a comprehensive 4-1 win over Crystal Palace has lifted Fulham out of the relegation zone up to 14th place, whilst producing some stunning goals against Palace. Pajtim Kasami's Marco Van Basten-esque volley to level the game is already early favourite for the goal-of-the-season award, whilst Steve Sidwell's effort which put Fulham 2-1 up, another time would have won him goal-of-the-month. Meanwhile Southampton have been enjoying a dream start to their season, showing no sign of the so-called "second-season-syndrome". And their style of play has been recently gaining nationwide praise for manager Mauricio Pochettino, proving himself to be a worthy replacement for Nigel Adkins. Dejan Lovren's/Adam Lallana's late equaliser at Old Trafford maintained Southampton place in a European spot (albeit now the Europa League), and they are showing no signs of slowing down, establishing themselves as a tough team to beat. It will be a new fixture for Pochettino, with last season's 2-2 and 1-1 draws coming under Adkins, therefore both managers will have had to do their homework: Pochettino assuring "... we will not underestimate our opposition, their league position does not reflect how they are doing." Whilst Jol stated"... we have hopefully a few weaknesses in the Southampton outfit." Both teams desperate to continue their good form, with a win in a fixture dominated by draws.
18 years old. Southampton FC season ticket holder. Keen writer and love sharing my opinions with others. Looking to gain experience before starting a Sports Journalism course at university in 2014.
