Southampton face another huge moment in their bid for Premier League survival when they face Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Saints went into their match with south coast neighbours Bournemouth at St Mary’s last weekend four points from safety with four fixtures remaining, but a big performance and 2-1 win saw them climb to within one point of 17th-place Swansea City as other results went their way.
Dusan Tadic was the hero for the hosts as he scored a fine brace, but he wasn’t the only first-team star that stood up and was counted in a much-improved display by Mark Hughes’ men.
While their opponents on Merseyside this weekend have little to play for the remainder of the campaign, it certainly won’t be a simple task for Hughes and his players given Sam Allardyce’s team’s fine home record – they have taken 14 points from the last 21 available on their own patch.
That compared with the fact that Saints have only won twice away in the top flight all season certainly doesn’t bode well for the visitors, but their squad should be in confident mood following their morale-boosting victory against the Cherries.
Hughes made two changes to the side that was beaten 2-0 by Chelsea in the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the visit of Eddie Howe’s men, as they lined up in a different formation, and the Welshman may well be considering making more alterations for the long trip north this weekend.
Here is how Southampton must line up against Everton, ahead of Alex McCarthy in goal…
Despite another disappointing display from Wesley Hoedt against Chelsea and the return of Jack Stephens from suspension, Mark Hughes decided to stick with the same back five that he has gone with in recent weeks.
While Jan Bednarek and Maya Yoshida were once again solid enough against Bournemouth and ready to put their bodies on the line, Hoedt showed his determination to make a difference by making one brilliant last-ditch challenge on Jermain Defoe – albeit after he gave the ball away in the first place.
Hughes should be consistent and go with those three at the heart of the defence again at Goodison Park, with Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares as the wing-backs.
When the majority of Southampton fans learnt that Hughes was only going to play two central midfielders against Bournemouth having played three against Chelsea, they would have expected Mario Lemina to drop out of the XI following something of a half-hearted display at Wembley.
However, it was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg that instead found himself on the substitutes’ bench with Lemina obviously proving to his manager in training that he is ready for the battle.
He didn’t disappoint with an all-action midfield display against the Cherries – which included an assist for Dusan Tadic – and he must start alongside Oriol Romeu again on Merseyside.
Tadic and Redmond came back into the XI having been on the bench at Wembley, and both impressed in their own different way.
The former arguably put in his best performance of the season with two brilliant finishes and a real creative flair – his statistics proved that he will be Southampton’s key man in their bid to beat the drop – while the latter caused plenty of problems for the Bournemouth defence with his pace.
Nevertheless, Shane Long is a huge threat away from home because of his own speed and never-say-die attitude which can stretch defences, and he should start in a three-pronged attack alongside Tadic and top goalscorer Charlie Austin at Goodison Park.
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