Southampton welcome relegation battling Watford to St Mary’s Stadium in a huge Premier League clash.
If Aston Villa lose elsewhere then Southampton can climb to ninth with victory, whereas Watford can move above Burnley into 18th with a win.
Team News
Nathan Tella could return for Southampton after recovering from a groin injury which has kept him sidelined since early February.
Alex McCarthy (thigh) and Lyanco (hamstring) are both still ruled out.
Watford could welcome Jeremy Ngakia back from a hamstring injury which kept him out of their last two matches.
William Troost-Ekong (groin), Joao Pedro (illness) and Joshua King (neck) are doubts.
Nicolas Nkoulou, Ismaila Sarr (both hamstring) and Kiko Femenia (muscle) are ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Southampton are unbeaten in their last six league meetings against Watford (W3, D3).
- Watford have won one of their last five visits to Southampton (W1, D2, L2).
- James Ward-Prowse has scored in two of his last three Southampton appearances against Watford.
- Stuart Armstrong has scored in two of Southampton’s last three home games in the Premier League.
- Watford have kept three clean sheets in five away games under Roy Hodgson (W1, D2, L2).
Prediction
After a lacklustre effort at Aston Villa last weekend, Southampton initially responded well on Thursday evening against Newcastle but a mixture of poor defending and wasteful shots proved their downfall despite dominating possession so more improvement is needed here.
Watford meanwhile were simply outclassed at Wolves in a closely fought game but to have none of nine shots converted onto target is poor is bad, whilst poor defensive positioning and organisation will again increase questions of their defence.
Goals therefore feels a safe bet here but if Southampton can sort out their defensive issues of their last two matches and rediscover their excellent midfield press plus attack, I just fancy them to get the win here if Watford’s defence don’t show considerable improvement.
Prediction: Southampton 1-0 Watford
Result: Southampton 1-2 Watford