Southampton have endured an inconsistent campaign. However, they have a chance to make it to the knockout stages of the Europa League with a draw against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv at St Marys on Thursday.
The Saints under Claude Puel have not quite hit the same heights as last season under the now departed Ronald Koeman. They have won just one of their last four games in the Europa League, suffering two defeats in the process.
The team from the south coast have struggled for goals in recent games, as there has been under 2.5 goals scored in four of their last five outings in all competitions.
The Saints are currently second in the group but are level on points with Hapoel, so a draw would be enough to see Puel’s team qualify for the last-16 of the competition.
However, the team from the south coast are five points behind group leaders Sparta Prague, so cannot win the group. Southampton suffered a 1-0 defeat at Sparta in their last Europa League group game.
Hapoel kept themselves in contention for a place in the knockout stages by defeating Inter Milan 3-2 in their last outing in this competition. In fact, the Israeli side have won their last six games in all competitions. They have also won eight of their last nine games in all competitions.
The visitors have been prolific in front of goal in recent games scoring two or more goals in all six games in their last six outings in all competitions. The visitors are unlikely to be pushovers to a Saints side enjoying such mixed fortunes this season.
Forebet predicts that Southampton will win this clash, which would be a good result for the team from the south coast considering the two team’s recent form.