Southampton enters a trilogy of big games this Sunday as they face an accomplished Arsenal outfit, but with Shane Long a doubt, will he be ‘sorely’ missed?
Irishman Shane Long recently suffered a minor calf injury, while Cedric Soares remains sidelined with a hamstring pull. Hopefully, both players shall be fit, but if not, supporters may stay fairly positive with Charlie Austin marking a notorious return to form with a brace against Everton and an equaliser against AFC Bournemouth.
Saints go into their next game against the Gunners as large underdogs, as Arsenal are bursting to make an impression since Spurs have slipped lately in the league. Austin looks to leave his own mark on the fixture meanwhile, having scored two in as many games against the opposition.
Arsenal and former Saints forward Theo Walcott has been linked with a move back to St. Mary’s in January reportedly, and will be interesting whether Arsenal line up with the winger initially.
Southampton’s next opposition Leicester City also travel to St. Mary’s three days later, and then in a further three days, Saints make the trip to Stamford Bridge, to face Champion’s Chelsea.
Chelsea has conjured up the same form that won them the title last season, after winning six of their last seven games. Leicester City has been no less inspiring, having so famously put their hands on the trophy themselves a couple seasons ago. Their recent league form has been rewarded with a top half spot and pushing for as high a finish as possible.
Former Southampton boss Claude Puel has been a revelation at the club since joining the Leicester ranks. However, his replacement Mauricio Pellegrino may be at last starting to find his feet on English soil, with a resilient performance against Bournemouth during the last game week, a desperately close encounter against Premier League favourite’s Manchester City, and a spiteful display against Everton, which witnessed Southampton run away 4-1 winners.
Could Southampton against all odds turnaround their low points tally and crawl their way up into the top ten this Christmas?
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Saints currently reside in 11th with Everton occupying the final top tenth position.
The importance of the next three games is inevitably high in this respect, nevertheless, it could not get any tougher for Saints. They play Spurs on Boxing Day at the new Wembley, followed by a trip to Old Trafford, on December 30th to face a categorically excellent Manchester United team.
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Pellegrino may hope to overcome Manchester United with a similar performance that exploited weaknesses of Manchester City, which is not easy.
It has certainly stood Southampton in good stead approaching the United fixture and also against Chelsea. Both opposition are incredibly sturdy in defence, but notably fast on the break, therefore Saints need to bring their absolute ‘A’ game.
In recent times, it has been a close game when Southampton played Manchester United, however, with the gap now opening between mid-table and the top six, has United surpassed those days?
I suggest that it will be a tough task for Saints, and perhaps their best chance of collecting any points on the day is to enter the fixture in already scintillating form,
I look at the next three games as not impossible, but a window of opportunity for Southampton, who have showcased their attacking threat against Everton, and in part against Bournemouth, as well as City.
With a well-organised defence and an exceptional goalkeeper, there is every reason to believe Saints shall pull through these difficult games, and set up an explosive encounter against United, on the final fixture of the semester year.