Southampton: Saints done no favours following fixture reschedule

Following last night’s fixture rescheduling, Southampton have been done dirty by the Premier League and now face Leicester City on the 19th April.

It means the rearranged fixture sits smack bang in the middle of the Saints’ two games with Chelsea, with the latter being their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

The game against Leicester is away in the Midlands, meaning the club will have to travel there and back with the Chelsea fixture just two and a half days after.

Southampton have the opportunity to reach their first FA Cup final in just over a decade when they meet the London side on the 22nd April, but the match will be that much tougher with the away game against Leicester 67 hours prior.

Last time out the Saints were demolished at the hands of Claude Puel’s side, with the Frenchman’s team displaying the exact attacking football Southampton fans never saw under his tenure.

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The news has been met negatively by the Southampton supporters, especially with the Saints’ previous two games being against Arsenal and Chelsea in the league – the fixture congestion could have a negative effect on the Saints’ hopes of staying up.

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The Saints have already struggled to get through what was perceived as some of their easier fixtures of the second half of the season, having already played Newcastle, Stoke, Huddersfield and an out-of-form Burnley in recent game-weeks.

The rescheduling poses many questions, among them whether Mark Hughes will prioritise the cup or the league. The latter seems like the obvious choice especially on a personal level with the 54-year-old set to pocket a tidy seven-figure for keeping the Saints up.

However, the opportunity to reach the FA Cup final is something that may not happen again for years, if not decades. Whilst Southampton managed to reach the EFL Cup final just last year that was their first in well over a dozen years and it may not happen again in a long time.

The sad thing because of the rescheduling the Saints may have to pick between the two – the manager won’t want to risk injury or burnout through playing his main XI in successive games within the space of a few days, so compromise may have to be made. All that’s certain, is that the rearranged date does the Saints no favours.