Southampton have taken a huge step towards their aim of avoiding relegation with an important first Premier League win this season. The Saints kept Sean Dyche's Everton from scoring and Adam Armstrong found the back of the net with only five minutes remaining in the match to guide the home side to a much-needed 1-0 win.
While Southampton and the fans are delighted with this massive win, the question now is how many points do the Saints need in order to avoid getting relegated again after two seasons. An important pattern in the recent Premier League seasons has been the fact that the relegated sides have secured less points after the end of each season.
How much points Southampton need to avoid relegation this season
This was evident in the ongoing season as well, with four Premier League sides Southampton, Ipswich Town, Wolves and Crystal Palace being winless after the first eight league fixtures. Hence, the number of points needed for any team to avoid relegation is expected to be less than Nottingham Forest's tally of 32 points, who finished at the sixteenth position just outside the relegation-zone.
Moreover, former Arsenal forward and Premier League analyst Paul Merson also believes it to be the case this season. Previewing Nottingham Forest's tenth league match against West Ham, Merson predicted that a team would manage to avoid relegation with 30 points this season, saying,
"Nottingham Forest are already on 16 points and with how things have gone this season, 30 points might just be enough for teams to ensure they stay in the division."Paul Merson
Merson's 30 points requirement prediction looks highly likely to happen, meaning Southampton still need nine league wins this season to stay in the English top flight. The next match is an away fixture against struggling side Wolves, who haven't managed to take a clean-sheet and are bottom-placed in the league table with only three points after ten matches.
However, Wolves have played two consecutive 2-2 draws in their previous two matches, thus, Russell Martin's side will need to be at their level best again to take another Premier League win from this match.