Southampton are in desperate need of a win as they host Fulham in a Premier League fixture on Saturday. Things are looking increasingly bleak for the Saints and they are likely to struggle against a Fulham side feeling confident after an impressive win last time out.
It has been a disaster of a season for Southampton, who are quickly running out of time as they remain rooted to the foot of the table. Sitting eight points from safety, a miraculous run of three wins in their final three matches is needed to save their season, and even that may not be enough.
While Southampton will still remain hopeful until the final whistle, things have not looked good for a while now and they head into Saturday’s clash winless in their last 10 Premier League matches. Ruben Selles’ men have been beaten seven times in that run and suffered a 4-3 defeat to Nottingham Forest in their previous Premier League fixture.
Southampton have had so little to cheer about thus season, even at home as they have won just once in their last 14 Premier League matches at St Mary’s Stadium. They have been beaten 10 times in that run, failing to score in the last two fixtures.
Fulham are coming off an impressive 5-1 victory over Leicester City in their previous Premier League fixture. Willian and Tom Cairney both scored a brace each while Carlos Vinicius was also on target for the Cottagers.
That was a much-needed return to winning ways for Fulham, who had lost their previous three matches. While that run of defeats would have been disappointing, they will be keen to put things in perspective having faced the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
An interesting thing about Fulham’s campaign is that they seem to do well against troubled teams having claimed successive victories over Everton and Leeds United prior to that run of defeats. One problem they would also like to solve is their leaky defence having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 matches.
How the bookies view it
Fulham have a slight edge among the bookies and are priced at 6/4 by Paddy Power to claim the win. A victory for Southampton is valued at 15/8 by Coral while BoyleSports is offering odds of 5/2 for a win.
Head to head
Southampton have a 9-6 advantage with eight draws from 23 previous matches against Fulham. However, the Cottagers claimed a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in December.
Players to watch
James Ward-Prowse has been the standout player for Southampton with his prowess at set pieces often giving them a lifeline. The midfielder has eight goals this season and having also found the net in the reverse fixture, could be backed in the anytime goalscorer market at 19/5 with Unibet.
Although top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic is back in contention following an eight-match suspension, Carlos Vinicius could still be worth keeping an eye on for Fulham. The striker has scored in two of his last three matches and is priced at 13/5 by Betfred to find the net on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been goals for both teams in the last two meetings between Southampton and Fulham and a repeat is priced at 8/11 by William Hill. The Saints have seen over 3.5 goals in their last two matches and a repeat is valued at 9/4 by Betfred while over 2.5 goals is valued at 10/11 by bet365.
Fulham opened the scoring in the reverse fixture and can be tipped to grab the first goal on Saturday at 11/10 with 10bet.
This English Premier League match between Southampton and Fulham will be played on May 13, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs Fulham prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
