Southampton vs Everton
Date: 19/01/2019
K/O: 15:00
Venue: St Mary’s
Referee: Graham Scott
Ralph Hasenhuttl will be eager to make up for his sides mid-week FA Cup exit at the hands of Derby County on Saturday as Southampton welcome Everton to St Mary’s.
The Saints were beaten on penalties by Frank Lampard’s men during the week, who for the second time, came from two goals behind to finish the game 2-2. After recent weeks full of suspensions and injuries the mid-week 120-minute game was maybe something that Hasenhuttl would have wanted to avoid; however, the team on the South Coast must battle on as they continue to sit grippingly close to the relegation zone.
A win for the Saints against the Toffee’s could lift them into joint 14th depending on results around them. On the contrary, a loss could leave them back in the relegation zone, again depending on surrounding results. This highlights the tight-rope Hasenhuttl’s side are currently walking on and he will be keen to use his next run of fixtures to collect points and lift the Saints away from the dreaded bottom three. Putting the defeat to Derby aside, Hasenhuttl will take confidence after his sides heroic effort last time out in the league where they came away from Leicester with three points – despite playing the whole second half with 10 men.
Everton, on the flip side, will be focusing on that European Cup spot in 7th, which is all up for grabs. Six points separate seventh and thirteenth so it really is all to play for in the Premier League in all departments. Marco Silva will be looking to build upon his sides 2-0 victory against Bournemouth at Goodison Park last weekend and Silva’s team will have a slight edge over Southampton in this weekend’s fixture after not having a mid-week game due to their narrow 2-1 victory against Lincoln in the FA Cup.
In their previous meeting at Goodison Park, Everton emerged victors after goals from Richarlison and Theo Walcott. Recently, however, Southampton have the better record as in their previous six meeting the Saints have emerged victorious three times, compared to Everton’s two. Paving the way for an interesting altercation between the two sides.
Southampton: Up until a couple of weeks ago the Saints had managed going through the season relatively injury and suspension free, bolstering a full-strength side for much of the first half of the season. However, with key players being out of the side such as Ings, Austin, Hojbjerg, Bertrand and Lemina it has provided the opportunity for young players to get a chance to make their mark.
A stand out player is the Frenchman Jan Valery, who has shown excellent composure and ability despite his age, giving Cedric Soares something to worry about once Bertrand returns to the squad.
Hasenhuttl stated that his players who have previously been unavailable are slowly starting to come back into the squad, which will be a crucial boost for the squad and the fans considering the importance of their next few fixtures. Ings may be rested until he is 100% while Bertrand and Lemina may make the bench with the starting XI doubtful.
The difference in the club since Mark Hughes’ departure has been considerable, with players looking sharper, fitter and more willing to win. Young players are always getting an opportunity under Hasenhuttl, which is going back to the well-known Southampton way of producing talented young players.
Everton: Marco Silva will be feeling blessed as his current side shows no current injuries or suspensions, which will allow him to field a full-strength side in the attempt to push for that Europa League spot.
One player that should be heavily considered for this tie is Ademola Lookman; the young Englishman may not have the best ratio, scoring one goal in 13 games, however his ability and movement off the ball gives Everton a slightly different dynamic. On paper he is a winger, however he can be seen floating across the midfield, looking to get involved in the game, which from a managerial point of view is very encouraging.
Predicted Starting XIs
Southampton (3-4-3): McCarthy; Bednarek, Vestergaard, Stephens; Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Cedric; Redmond, Austin, Armstrong
Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Zouma, Digne; Gueye, Gomez, Lookman, Sigurdsson, Bernard; Richarlison
Score Prediction: Southampton 2 Everton 2
Both sides will be actively looking to win the game which will open up either sides defence and with both teams scoring and shipping goals in recent games, it will make for an interesting encounter.
