Southampton haven't been spectacular so far this month in front of goal.
The Saints have only scored two times in October, which is unlike them, as they were scoring goals for fun during September, as they romped home to several convincing St Mary's victories.
Thankfully, the goals drying up in front of goal hasn't coincided with the defence shipping goals left right and centre, as the South Coast outfit have battled hard in games to keep three clean sheets on the spin.
Despite this formidable defensive run of form, there have been suggestions that one of Southampton's Championship rivals possess an even more daunting centre-back duo...
The centre-back duo noted as being the best in the Championship
The often outspoken Second Tier podcast have hailed Phil Neumann and Christoph Klarer as the "best centre-back pairing in the Championship" after Birmingham City's resounding 3-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
The German colossus, and his Austrian teammate, have been rock solid in recent Blues matches, as Chris Davies and Co. continue to rise up the division.
Indeed, they have been responsible for three successive clean sheets being sealed in October, just like the watertight Saints, with Klarer winning a mighty 11 duels during that aforementioned win at St. Andrew's over the R's.
Best centre-back pairing in the Championship. pic.twitter.com/l7yYxe0NAj
— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) October 18, 2026
Neumann loves launching himself into a duel as well, with ten won against the visitors from West London, with Davies having the easiest job in the world to keep selecting this duo in the imperious vain of form they're both in.
Yet, they have shown this season that they're not completely impenetrable, with Neumann struggling in September during a 2-1 defeat against Norwich City, a team that the Saints managed to keep at arm's length on their own patch.
Klarer has also struggled during some big matches this campaign, with the 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers seeing him win just one ground duel all afternoon, as he looked uncharacteristically weak at points during the hotly contested Black Country affair.
The die-hard St. Mary's masses might well disagree with the assessment of the Second Tier pod, as they put forward their own South Coast representatives...
Saints fans will disagree
Of course, it is impressive that both Neumann and Klarer have collected three clean sheets on the bounce in the demanding Championship.
But, before this run emerged, their last second tier clean sheet fell on the opening day against Sheffield United.
It is a lot more impressive what Keven Schlotterbeck and Jack Stephens have delivered, as the new-look duo at the heart of the Saints backline put forward their own compelling argument to be the best defensive alliance in the entire league, away from the Birmingham couple.
Indeed, Neumann's fellow compatriot, and the reinvigorated veteran have only been the two main centre-back pairing three times this season in Championship action, but they're yet to concede a single goal when linking up.
This is astonishing, as Eckert and Co. were yet to keep a clean sheet in the Championship all campaign until the brave German decided to draft Stephens back into the first team frame, in what now looks to be an inspired decision.
Nathan Wood is unlikely to come back into the team anytime soon if Schlotterbeck and Stephens keep up their inspired run of form together, with the ex-Augsburg centre-back sticking out as a wonderful bargain buy for only £3m.
He would have been competing against the likes of Klarer and Neumann in his native Germany once upon a time, with the trio now butting heads in the centre-back stakes in England, alongside the refreshed Southampton captain.
It will be intriguing to see how many more shutouts they can manage at the back, as Eckert's men also compete with the in-form Blues in the intense promotion race.
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