Football – England – Premier League
Saturday 11th April 2015 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Southampton and Ronald Koeman will be looking to bounce back with a win here this afternoon following their disappointing 1-0 loss away at Everton last Saturday, particularly with the hosts being just one point shy of Liverpool and a possible Europa League spot.
If Southampton did achieve fifth spot at the end of the season it would be a remarkable achievement for everyone involved at the south coast club, considering Southampton’s plight just a few seasons ago when they found themselves playing League One football.
They return to their St Marys Stadium for the clash with Hull City with the hosts looking to build upon recent back-to-back home wins over Crystal Palace 1-0 and Burnley 2-0, and with a good defensive record behind them on home turf (only Chelsea with 7 goals have conceded fewer goals than The Saints at home in the Premier League so far), they could once again take more points here today.
Hull City slumped to a 3-1 defeat away at Swansea City last time out, and no doubt manager Steve Bruce will be keen to impress upon his players the importance of keeping things tight at the back for the trip to Southampton.
A poor run of five matches without a win has thrown The Tigers back into the relegation mire and they now find themselves just one league position and two points above third from bottom club QPR on the back of defeats to Stoke City, Chelsea and Swansea City.
Hull’s away record stands at 2-6-8 12/23 and they’ve gone six away matches without a win, scoring just two goals on their travels during this sequence. If I know Brucey, he’ll set his side up not to lose and try and grab a point at St Marys and stem the flow of goals, but ultimately, they face an uphill task of doing so.
Southampton’s form at home has been solid all season and I can see them grinding out a win here today, perhaps 1-0.
Pick: Southampton AH-0.75 @ 1.65 Bet Victor
