Southampton vs. Brighton: Pre-match talking points – 17/09/18

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Maya Yoshida of Southanpton looks on prior to the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton at American Express Community Stadium on August 28, 2018 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Maya Yoshida of Southanpton looks on prior to the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton at American Express Community Stadium on August 28, 2018 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
2 of 4
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 01: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Southampton FC at Selhurst Park on September 1, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 01: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Southampton FC at Selhurst Park on September 1, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)

Top half calling

After such a rotten start to the campaign which saw the Saints flirt with the relegation places, they could now slide into the top half with a win over the Seagulls tonight. Granted, it’s early days, but it’s never too soon to get to where you want to finish come the end of the season.

A win tonight would leave Southampton on a very respectable seven points from 15, which in turn would see them leapfrog Everton to tenth and knock them, Leicester and Crystal Palace all down a place.

Southampton have played some good football for periods of just about every game they’ve played this season and it’s taken nearly a month for them to learn to sustain that level of energy for the duration of the match – if they can keep this up there’s no reason why they couldn’t challenge for top half. Let’s take every game as it comes, though.