Southampton: Positive talks could mean 8,000 fans at St Mary’s in May

8,000 Southampton fans could be back at St Mary’s to see their side’s penultimate Premier League fixture of the 2020/21 season.

That is according to an exclusive report from the Athletic’s Philip Buckingham, who confirms talks have been held over moving the 37th round of fixtures to a midweek slot that would be after some Covid-19 related restrictions have been lifted in the UK.

Saints are currently due to play their last home game against Leeds on Saturday 15th May, with kick-off set for 3pm.

However, the Athletic suggest that changes could be made to enable it to be played in the following midweek – potentially with a 25% full St Mary’s after recent guidance released by the UK government.

The UK’s “roadmap” for easing of all measures as the country looks towards a post-pandemic time includes three stages. The third stage comes in no earlier than May 17th but includes the possible return of fans to major sporting events – 10,000 or 25% capacity (whichever is smallest) would cover the guidelines Saints must abide by after that date.

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It remains to be seen whether an agreement for the penultimate round of fixtures will be moved dates, but Saints are almost certain to be playing in front of supporters for their final game of 2020/21 at West Ham on 23rd May.

Fresh concerns about “sporting integrity” were raised with just the final match of the Premier League due to be played with supporters present, so now it appears that things may change to ensure each team plays at home once in the last week of the season.

The last time Saints played in front of fans was back in December when they narrowly lost to Manchester City by a 1-0 scoreline.

This was the third of three of their games where fans were present after the away win over Brighton and the home win over Sheffield United – also in December.

The 25% capacity will be a big boost given that the players will be playing with their biggest crowds since March 2020. Hopefully Saints will be able to enjoy their final matches of this campaign without the worry of a relegation scrap.

There is also the FA Cup to think about of course. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are in the Quarter-Finals and play Bournemouth away on the 20th March, with the winner advancing to the Semi-Finals at Wembley.

If Saints make it to the Final of the competition, they could play in front of a significant 4,000 strong crowd at Wembley too given that the event has been mentioned as a possible test for new the sporting event guidelines mentioned previously.