The Saints barely managed to keep themselves afloat in the Premier League last season as they finished fourth from bottom. A burst of end-of-season form just got them safe at the end of the day, finishing three points above the drop zone. So far over the summer, the Saints have stuck with the status quo of manager Mark Hughes, giving him a new contract after he was only taken on temporarily to get them safe from the drop last season. He did that by the skin of his teeth but the Welshman will get a chance to build the squad and take it in a positive direction.
They have gotten in Angus Gunn from Manchester City which puts pressure on Fraser Forster between the sticks and the Saints do look as if they are going to have to shop for a bit more offensive power. Their big signing of the summer so far at the time of writing was attacking midfielder Mohamed Elyounoussi coming over from Basel. The bits that they have picked up haven’t been bad really but they are likely to need more. They have trimmed their squad including having sold off Dusan Tadic to Ajax. Southampton really struggled in front of goal last season which was why they ended up in the predicament they were in. They did get a defensive record which was better than other teams above them in the bottom half of the table.
Charlie Austin was their top scorer last season in the top flight with just a seven-goal haul and there is a clear need to improve that. Also, one huge reason why they fell down so badly was their home form. Only West Brom, who finished bottom of the Premier League table boasted a worse home record than the Saints did in the English top flight last season. That’s not saying that their away form was any good as they won just three times on the road, just the four times at home. The set up at Southampton actually isn’t all that bad but they went down a pretty tough spiral last season and lessons have to be learned from that. They need to shop for forward power, as Charlie Austin, while the current top value to be Southampton’s top scorer for the season, isn’t likely going to be prolific enough to drive the Saints towards the top ten.
Top Ten Finish odds*
Leicester 8/11
Wolves 6/5
West Ham 5/4
Southampton 7/4
Newcastle 7/4
Bournemouth 5/2
Burnley 2/1
Fulham 6/1
Brighton 7/1
Watford 7/1
Huddersfield 8.1
Cardiff 14/1
* (betting odds taken on July 26th, 20189 at 4:08 am)
A top ten finish for Southampton this season has to be a realistic target for them, especially after the misery of the last term when they had their relegation stresses. We don’t see them having a great time of things though because even with the additions that they have made over the summer, they don’t really look to have moved on from a state of averageness. There are big threats coming up to the top flight this season in quality teams like Fulham and Wolves which would likely heap more pressure on teams like Southampton if the Saints can’t get things right.
In head coach Mark Hughes they have a man who knows how to fight, but does he have the tactical flair to take Southampton in a more positive direction in terms of style? The Jury will be out on that one and Mark Hughes is at 11/1 odds* (betting odds taken on July 26th, 2018 at 6:14 pm) in the Ladbrokes Next Manager To Leave Post market. That leaves only four managers at a shorter price than he is. The future and success of both Hughes and Southampton as a partnership is likely to rest on whether or not they can find a proven, consistent goalscorer. Hughes deserves a chance, he fulfilled his duty of keeping Southampton up despite losing half of the ten games that he was in charge of (W3 D2). Southampton are at 1/10 odds* (betting odds taken on July 26th, 2018 at 6:14 pm) to stay up.
Fixture List
Southampton will be delighted with the opening sequence of games that they have at the start of the season. They open their account against Burnley on home soil to kick things off and then go against Everton and Leicester in their other August matches. They get a comfortable start to September as well in having to face up against Crystal Palace and Brighton. So there is a real chance at points for Southampton there before they hit their first game against one of the big six, which is a visit to Anfield.
December looks really tough for Southampton and it will be a trying time for them. They go against Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City during the month in which they play seven games. They get Chelsea on January 1st as well. So if the Saints are back in a relegation fight at the end of the season, could their end of season run-in help them? Potentially so yes. Their last game against one of the big six is Liverpool in early April and their final five games are against Wolves, Newcastle, Bournemouth, West Ham and Huddersfield. Manageable.
Prediction
We just don’t see Southampton taking a big enough step forward at all to the point where they can get themselves up into the top half of the table and we aren’t going to take a risk on that. Southampton do have good players, but great ones are very few and far between and that could hinder them at the end of the day. Hughes is a solid and stable manger but perhaps not one to drag the club forward in a great manner. We are sticking the 2/5 odds* (betting odds taken on July 26th, 2018 at 6:14 pm) on a Southampton to finish in the bottom half of the table.
