As the two sides prepare to face off at St. Mary’s on Saturday, Southampton and Aston Villa are locked on 29 points in the Premier League table.
Tenth-place Villa currently sit just ahead of eleventh-place Southampton on goal difference, while Dean Smith’s side also have a game in hand over Saints.
⚽️ @JVestergaard7's thundering header 🎂 @Prowsey16's birthday double 🚀 @IngsDanny's screamer A 7 goal thriller at Villa Park in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣ where #SaintsFC claimed victory over #AVFC: pic.twitter.com/RVQ4GViG8G— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) January 28, 2021
⚽️ @JVestergaard7's thundering header 🎂 @Prowsey16's birthday double 🚀 @IngsDanny's screamer A 7 goal thriller at Villa Park in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣ where #SaintsFC claimed victory over #AVFC: pic.twitter.com/RVQ4GViG8G
Following a flying start to the season, there is no denying that Southampton have struggled for form of late.
Indeed, the south coast side have only managed to win one of their previous seven Premier League outings, with three draws and three losses coming in that time.
Saints head into Saturday’s game on the back of two straight defeats, losing 2-0 to Leicester before suffering a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal last time out.
Southampton have scored just two goals in their last six league games, with Danny Ings and Stuart Armstrong finding the net against Liverpool and Arsenal, respectively.
Still, thanks to their strong start to the campaign, Saints are only six points off the top four with a game in hand over the majority of teams ahead.
After enjoying a five-game unbeaten streak in December, Aston Villa have now lost three of their last four league matches.
Dean Smith’s men have lost to Man Utd, Man City and Burnley since the turn of the year, although they did beat Newcastle earlier in the month.
Villa appeared to be heading for victory over Burnley last time out. However, two late goals saw them throw away a 2-1 lead and eventually lose 3-2.
Smith’s side enjoyed 62% possession and recorded 18 shots (10 on target) at Turf Moor, but they failed to hold onto their advantage.
Having said that, Villa can take confidence from the fact that they still have one of the best defensive records in the Premier League this term.
Head-to-head: Aston Villa have suffered four straight defeats to Southampton since 2016, conceding over 2.5 goals on three occasions during that period.
In the reverse fixture back in November, Southampton secured a memorable 4-3 victory, with James Ward-Prowse netting two free-kicks.
Team news: Southampton could be without as many as nine players for Saturday’s game, although key midfielder Oriol Romeu is close to returning from injury.
As for Villa, centre-back Kortney Hause remains sidelined, while long-term absentee Wesley is still not close to a comeback.
Both Southampton and Villa have taken a turn for the worse of late, meaning this is likely to be a tense encounter.
Forebet predicts that Southampton will edge Aston Villa on Saturday, although both teams are expected to score.