Southampton vs. Everton: Preview and predictions

In a match where both sides are in no form at all, Southampton host struggling Everton in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Saints were off the pace in the 3-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield last week. Once again, there was little attacking flair shown from the side as Mario Lemina’s absence is evident. This along with the quality of Liverpool was a bad site for Mauricio Pellegrino and his team.

Dusan Tadic, Sofiane Boufal and Nathan Redmond couldn’t get on the ball and make things happen as centre-forward Manolo Gabbiadini was left frustrated. The Saints had just five shots against Liverpool, with no shots on target.

Thankfully this week, the blue side of Merseyside have been going through a nightmare season. After plenty of activity in the transfer window and former Saints manager Ronald Koeman getting the boot, interim manager David Unsworth has to turn things around quickly. The Toffees suffered a 5-1 thrashing against Atalanta, further underlining the problems at the club.

Despite these poor run of results, Southampton can’t afford to underestimate Everton as they still have a decent team on paper. A win would do the world of good for us in the hope we can move on up the table.

Why Southampton will win

Even though lack of goals and quality in the final third seems to be an ever-going problem at Southampton, the opposition can certainly be got at. Everton have conceded 14 goals in all competitions in the last five games.

A statistic that will give fans belief that three points can be claimed. Manolo Gabbiadini will fancy his chances against an unstable defence he can get the better of. Everton have struggled to find a consistent back four.

Ashley Williams, Michael Keane and Phil Jagielka have been completely off the pace. Leighton Baines at his age doesn’t have the same freedom to get up the pitch as much as he would like. Even though our centre-forwards have been short of service this season, it only takes one chance for the Saints to lead the match.

Why Everton will win

Despite leaking goals at the back, Everton still have quality in the attacking areas. It will be interesting to see if Wayne Rooney starts the match. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a good talent and can get behind our defence if Southampton gets caught out.

Whilst we need to keep tight on Gylfi Sigurdsson as he has the quality to unlock our defence. The positive thing for Pellegrino’s side is Everton don’t have too many match winners in their team, apart from these three players.

Related Story: Austin must start before Saints consider selling him

Predicted Line Ups

Southampton:

Fraser Forster

Cedric, Wesley Hoedt, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Bertrand

Oriol Romeu, Mario Lemina

Dusan Tadic, Steven Davis, Nathan Redmond

Manolo Gabbiadini

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Everton:

Jordan Pickford

Jonjoe Kenny, Michael Keane, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines

Tom Davies, Morgan Schneiderlin

Aaron Lennon, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Davy Klaassen

Sandro Ramirez

Verdict

It all really depends on which Southampton team we’ll see. If it’s the one that shows some fight we can definitely get the win against this Everton side. If we see a performance that was similar to last week’s defeat, the team are likely to face another chorus of boos at the end of the match. The dismal form of Everton may get the Saints over the line.

Southampton 2-1 Everton