Match Build-Up
Southampton’s blip at the start of December seems all but a distant memory now, with five wins and a draw in six games after that embarrassing Capital One Cup exit to Sheffield United. An impressive run indeed, made even more so remarkable by the fact that those six games included fixtures against Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton and Newcastle.
The job is still far from done for the Saints, however, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham all beginning to hit form in the battle for Champions League qualification. Manchester United’s recent mishaps shouldn’t fool Southampton either, with the Red Devils moving above them into third after their victory over Leicester City today. The competition is tight, and it will most likely go down to the wire, but Southampton will be confident of achieving the impossible dream of playing top-flight European football next season with a comparatively easier run in than their rivals (their last four games include Sunderland, Aston Villa and Leicester).
In the more immediate future, the Saints host a Swansea side who have been shaken to the core by the loss of star man Wilfried Bony to Manchester City. His goals will inevitably leave a colossal hole to manager Garry Monk to fill, and with the transfer deadline looming, time is running out. This game will come as an unwanted distraction to the Welsh side, with no replacement for Bony yet found and Gylfi Sigurdsson and Ki Sung-Yueng, two integral pieces of the Swansea puzzle, both unavailable as well.
With two key attacking options both taken away from Swansea, a trip to the best defence in the league was not exactly what Monk wanted. Southampton’s 16 goals conceded in the league is the least out of all 92 teams in the Football League, with a mere seven goals scored against them at St. Mary’s so far this season. The Swans’ record against their hosts is hardly room for encouragement either, with Southampton winning the last three battles, keeping a clean sheet in each. Swansea have also failed to win at Southampton for over 60 years.
If things didn’t look bad enough for Swansea already, the only Welsh side in the top flight are winless in five in all competitions and have one of the worst away records in the league, with only two victories on the road all season.
Team News
Southampton are boosted by the return of Sadio Mane and Maya Yoshida from international duty at the African Cup of Nations and Asian Cup respectively. This will be music to the ears of Ronald Koeman, who is facing a mini-injury crisis at the minute. Koeman admitted that this clash has come too early for Victor Wanyama, Morgan Schneiderlin and Toby Alderweireld, although he is “hopeful” that the trio will be available again next week. Sam Gallagher, Jay Rodriguez and Emmanuel Mayuka also remain sidelined for the Saints.
Jack Cork may have made the switch from the hosts to the visitors earlier this week in a £3million deal, but he will not be available for selection for the Swans just yet. There is good news for Garry Monk’s side, however, as Jefferson Montero and skipper Ashley Williams are in contention to start after shoulder and hamstring troubles respectively. Neil Taylor should return to the side at left back after being rested in the FA Cup, whilst new signing Kyle Naughton is expected to make his debut defending the other flank. Jonjo Shelvey’s return from suspension is offset by fresh bans for Sigurdsson and Kyle Bartley.