Southampton welcome Fulham to St Mary’s Stadium in the second of Saturday’s triple bill of Premier League action.
Irrespective of what Newcastle or Burnley do earlier this weekend, Southampton will climb to 13th for at least 21 hours with victory.
Fulham meanwhile are already relegated but can take a step closer towards securing an 18th placed finish with a win.
Team News
Jan Bednarek is a doubt for Southampton with an ankle injury suffered in Tuesday’s win over Crystal Palace.
Ryan Bertrand (calf), Will Smallbone (knee) and and Oriol Romeu (ankle) remain absent.
Fulham could have Harrison Reed back in contention after the midfielder sat out Monday’s defeat to Burnley with a knock.
Tom Cairney (knee) won’t be risked until he is deemed fully fit but Terence Kongolo (knee) is ruled out until next season.
Stat Attack
- Southampton are unbeaten in four of their last five league meetings against Fulham (W3, D1, L1).
- Fulham are winless in their last seven league trips to St Mary’s Stadium (D4, L3).
- Jan Bednarek is Southampton’s only centre-back to have provided an assist in the Premier League this season.
- Just one of Fulham’s 25 league goals this season has come on the counter-attack.
- Craig Pawson is refereeing a Southampton home match for the first time since February 2020, when Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints beat Aston Villa 2-0.
Prediction
Ralph Hasenhuttl will likely be concerned by his team’s defending because Southampton at times on Tuesday evening looked shaky at the back, yet they were clinical on the attack which proved the difference in a solid but scrappy win.
Fulham meanwhile can relax now the pressure is off them so I am interested to see how Scott Parker approaches these last three games, especially because the Cottagers could do with momentum to take into next season back in the Championship.
Southampton though should have enough to edge this on current form if can deliver a much tighter yet equally clinical display akin to midweek, especially given Fulham’s defensive issues.
Prediction: Southampton 2-0 Fulham
Result: Southampton 3-1 Fulham