Match Preview
Southampton vrs Fulham
Premiership Match Day 36 2223 at St. Mary's Stadium
Satusday 13th May 2023 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Thomas Bramall (Sheffield)
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Fulham were involved in a goal-laden Premier League fixture last time out as they ended a three-game losing streak with an emphatic 5-3 victory at home against Leicester City on Monday.
On Saturday Fulham visit Southampton at St Mary's with The Saints clinging onto their Premier League status by a thread.
The Saints will be relegated to the Championship if they fail to beat the Cottagers, who are hoping to consolidate their position in the top half of the table.
Despite the absence of top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic and chief playmaker Andreas Pereira, Marco Silva's men had no problems breaching Leicester's leaky backline, with Willian (2), Tom Cairney (2) and Carlos Vinicius all on the scoresheet to help the Cottagers claim their 14th league win of the season – their joint-most victories in a single Premier League campaign.
Fulham remain 10th in the Premier League table and are on course to secure an impressive top-half finish 12 months on from winning the Championship title, as they currently sit six points clear of 11th-placed Chelsea, albeit having played a game more.
Silva's side will be confident of success on Saturday against a struggling Southampton side who they beat 2-1 at Craven Cottage in December, courtesy of a James Ward-Prowse own goal and a match-winner from Joao Palhinha.
However, Fulham's aforementioned away record at Southampton is poor to say the least, while they have lost five of their last six top-flight matches on the road, including their last two without reply; Fulham have not lost three successive games without scoring since December 2018.
Southampton's 11-year stay in the Premier League is on the verge of coming to an end following Monday's eventful 4-3 defeat away against relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.
The Saints were trailing by two goals on three separate occasions and fought back courtesy of strikes from Carlos Alcaraz, Lyanco and James Ward-Prowse, but their valiant efforts were ultimately in vain as they were condemned to their 23rd league defeat of the campaign.
Victories over Chelsea and Leicester City in February and March respectively seem like a distant memory for Ruben Selles, who has since endured a torrid 10-game winless run, including seven defeats, with his side conceding 23 goals in the process.
Southampton remain at the foot of the table but as a result of both Forest and Everton winning on Monday, the Saints now sit eight points adrift of safety with just three games remaining.
Selles and co enter Saturday's contest with the worst home record in the Premier League having picked up just 10 points from 17 matches at St Mary's – the club's worst-ever points return on home soil in a single Football League season.
However, one glimmer of hope for the Saints is that they have remarkably lost only one of their 31 home league meetings with Fulham and are unbeaten in each of their last 21 home encounters with the Cottagers since a 2-1 defeat back in October 1935.
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Fulham beat Southampton 2-1 at Craven Cottage on 31 December and are vying to complete their first league double against them.
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However, Fulham have won just once in 31 league matches away to Saints, a 2-1 victory in the second tier in October 1935 (D8, L22).
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Only one of the 21 top-flight meetings has ended in an away win - Southampton's 3-0 victory in February 2014.
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Fulham’s 14 victories are their joint most in a Premier League season. The Cottagers have only won more games in a top-flight campaign in 1959-60 (17).
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The Whites are vying for a club record 15th Premier League win of the season.
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A seventh top-flight away victory would also be a club record, surpassing the six wins recorded in 1960-61 and 1962-63.
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Fulham have taken 25 points out of a possible 27 in nine league fixtures against teams currently in the bottom five, only dropping points in a goalless home draw versus Everton in October.
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Their total of 50 Premier League goals is two shy of their highest in a season, recorded in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
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A 12th Premier League goal of the season would be the highest of Aleksandar Mitrovic's career.
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Saints must win all three of their remaining games to have any chance of escaping relegation. They have ended a Premier League campaign with three successive victories twice before, doing so to beat the drop in 1998-99 and winning their final four matches when finishing sixth in 2015-16.
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Southampton could be relegated from the top flight for the third time, having also gone down in 1973-74 and 2004-05.
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Defeat would be their 24th in the league this season, a new club record.
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They are winless in 10 top-flight fixtures (D3, L7), losing each of the past three.
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With 10 points from 17 games at St Mary's, they are guaranteed their lowest total of home points in a Football League season (once adjusted to three points for a win).
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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole