Aston Villa’s Premier League safety is in their own hands as they travel to St. Mary’s to face Southampton on Saturday.
Dean Smith’s side currently sit one point clear of the relegation zone, but Villa will be desperate for a win following back-to-back defeats.
On other hand, Southampton are 12 – six points ahead of Villa – but Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men have also hit a rut recently.
A fantastic run of results over the festive period saw Saints steer clear of the bottom three and climb up the Premier League table. However, three defeats in their previous four outings have halted their progress.
Southampton were beaten by Wolves last month before bouncing back to beat Crystal Palace. But Hasenhuttl’s side come into this game on the back of consecutive defeats to Liverpool and Burnley.
Still, the visit of struggling Aston Villa provides Southampton with the ideal opportunity to return to winning ways this weekend.
Things appeared to be looking up for Villa after a couple of positive results against relegation rivals Brighton and Watford in January.
But after knocking Leicester out of the EFL Cup to book their place in the final at Wembley, Villa have since lost to Bournemouth and Tottenham.
Dean Smith’s side took the lead against Spurs, but a late stoppage-time winner from Son Heung-min condemned Villa to yet another defeat.
Villa have been dismal on the road this season and have only managed to win two of their 13 away games in the Premier League in 2019/20.
However, Southampton have the worst home record in the division – winning just three league games at St. Mary’s all season.
Aston Villa haven’t beaten Southampton since 2013. The two teams have met seven times since then, with Saints winning on four occasions while the other three games were drawn.
With the Villains struggling to avoid relegation and Southampton enjoying huge success against Villa in recent seasons, it doesn’t look good for Dean Smith’s side this weekend.
Turning our attention to the team news, Southampton will be without forward Nathan Redmond on Saturday, while the fitness of Kyle Walker-Peters and Sofiane Boufal is unclear.
Smith will be hoping that Tyrone Mings is ready to return following illness, but key trio Wesley, John McGinn and Tom Heaton all remain sidelined.
Southampton and Villa have both dipped in recent weeks, but Saints have been playing a lot better than Villa.
Forebet predicts that Southampton will secure a narrow victory against Villa. Both teams are expected to score.