This duo are two of the better sides in the Premier League and both of them will be looking to push for European football this season. There is an extra spice added into this match with old boss Ronald Koeman bringing his Everton team to St. Mary’s Stadium.
After a lot of optimism a few weeks ago with the Saints going on a five-match unbeaten run, conceding just twice in that period, Southampton had a bit of a downer losing to table-topping Chelsea and then relegation-threatened Hull City, however, they recovered last week to earn a respectable draw against high-flying Liverpool and indeed are one of only three teams to not concede against the Reds in the Premier League this season.
Claude Puel’s men suffered defeat away against Sparta Prague on Thursday night which means their hopes of qualifying from Europa League Group K hang very much in the balance and it will be win or bust when they host Israeli champions and league leaders Hapoel Be’er Sheva in a couple of weeks time.
The manager has called for his players to not be too downcast after that result in the Czech Republic and indeed it must be said that the Frenchman fielded a weakened team against Sparta.
We should see a much better line-up on Sunday as their focus switches back to the Premier League. The Saints have a very good record at St. Mary’s Stadium with just the one defeat (against Chelsea) to their name this season. In fact, Chelsea are the only side to come away from Southampton with a Premier League victory in 2016.
The Saints will of course take confidence from this fact whilst they will also be extra keen to make sure they put one over on their old manager.
Ronald Koeman’s team had a terrific start to the season but are now starting to fade a bit with just one win in their last seven matches, putting them seventh in the league. However, with their new rich British-Iranian owner Farhad Moshiri, The Toffees will no doubt spend in January in order to re-energise their campaign.
Goals are not too much of a problem for Everton as, mainly thanks to Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, they have scored in all but one of their last six Premier League matches. Unfortunately, the defence that looked so good at the start of the season is now looking decidedly more wobbly with just one clean sheet since beating Sunderland back in mid-September.
After their humiliating 5-0 defeat to Chelsea just before the international break, Everton looked to quickly get back on track last week but could only draw against relegation-threatened Swansea. When you consider that this match was at home, where Everton have been so good this season, you realise how bad a result this was for Koeman’s side.
It has really been Everton’s home form that has kept them around the top six this season as their away form has been pretty diabolical. Although they recorded an impressive draw against title-challengers Manchester City, The Toffees have lost three out of their last four trips away from Goodison Park.
Going up against a Southampton side who are so good at home is hardly what you need when you are trying to turn your away form around.
Although Everton are a good side, something is not quite right at the moment, particularly away from home, and so I am expecting a Southampton win here. In fact, with the Saints so good at St. Mary’s I expect them to win without which you can get at the great price of 5/2.
Even though I expect Southampton without letting in a goal, this fixture between two evenly-matched sides could easily be a close game and so I think the Enhanced Odds offer of ‘Southampton to Win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1’ at an almost-doubling 19/10 is a worthy second selection.
As previously mentioned, with Southampton so good defensively, It will be hard for Everton to break them down and, if we assume this will be quite a tight game, I think we should see less than three goals go in overall. At odds of 5/6 ‘Under 2.5 Goals’ completes the betting line-up ahead of this one.
See all of Sunday’s Premier League tips here.