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The numbers that suggest Southampton should comfortably beat Blackburn

The Championship fixtures just keep hurtling Southampton's way, as they face Blackburn Rovers next.
Blackburn Rovers v Southampton - Sky Bet Championship
Blackburn Rovers v Southampton - Sky Bet Championship | Rich Linley - CameraSport/GettyImages

Southampton just keep finding ways to win, no matter what.

Against Derby County, they had to do things the hard way, rather than being handed a straightforward 5-1 victory, as was offered rather charitably by Wrexham.

Instead, it required grit to keep plugging away, after Tonda Eckert's hosts went into the break one goal down, due to Carlton Morris prodding home an opportunity from a corner kick.

Thankfully, Eckert has a hefty portion of stars at his disposal that he knows he can rely on when moments are tough, as both Leo Scienza and Taylor Harwood-Bellis got in on the goalscoring act, to steer Southampton to another win in their breathless bid to seal a playoff position.

Team effort sealed the win

The South Coast giants just kept racking up opportunities coolly, knowing that they would eventually break down a stern Rams defence.

Scienza would level the match with a moment of breathtaking quality, as he curled home a now trademark strike, to level the scores at 1-1. It's clear why Premier League clubs are eyeing up the sublime Brazilian, as he possesses a superb game-changing ability.

Harwood-Bellis would then win the contest when he excellently connected with a late Ryan Manning free-kick, as the captain wheeled away with a huge grin on his face to seal the win.

It was a dominant display from the ex-Manchester City centre-back in defence, too, with seven duels won, while Daniel Peretz behind him had to pull off a number of agile saves, to ensure John Eustace's men were kept at bay, after Morris' opener.

It was an all-round fantastic team display that clinched the three points, with Caspar Jander - in particular - standing out as a midfield anchor, with an 86% pass accuracy average, but also via his determined 11 duels being won.

Eckert will continue to use his full squad, as games come thick and fast, with Blackburn Rovers now the next test for the German's side on Tuesday night.

The numbers do suggest that Southampton should beat the relegation-threatened Riversiders, with the Saints deep in a 17-game unbeaten run at this point in time. Still, there are even wider statistics that heavily weigh in the South Coast side's favour.

The numbers that suggest Southampton should win again

Eckert's men keep showing that they can pick up invaluable victories in several different ways, whether that be courtesy of a goal-filled win or a match where they have to go the distance to secure another three points.

There are good omens in the air for the Saints, too, when looking over their recent history facing Blackburn, particularly when the Lancashire outfit make the mammoth journey down to St. Mary's.

Amazingly, the last time Blackburn came away from the South Coast with three points in tow was all the way back in 2001, with the likes of James Beattie leading the line for Southampton, in a 2-1 loss in the Premier League.

The last time the two ex-top-flight teams met in the Championship, on Southampton's own turf, Russell Martin guided his promotion chasers to a comfortable 4-0 victory, with Samuel Edozie opening the scoring, who is still situated in Eckert's camp.

With Tom Fellows' indifferent form in the first team fold, Edozie might well fancy his chances of a start against Michael O'Neill's men.

With the playoff hopefuls winning their last five home games on the spin, too, in all competitions, the pre-match script would suggest that Eckert and Co. will stroll to another three points.

Blackburn aren't yet mathematically safe, however, so expect a tasty encounter when the mid-week action kicks off.

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