With 31 Premier League games under their belt and now just seven remaining, Southampton find themselves once again among the mix in the top-half of the table.
In another season where opinions on how the club would fare were split, near the end the Saints are poised to mount a push to finish in at least a Europa League position. Currently seventh with 47 points, the men of St. Mary’s sit just one win away from West Ham and Manchester United in fifth and sixth respectively, though the two higher teams have a match in hand.
Ronald Koeman’s side has hardly managed to split from the pack though, with Stoke City sitting just a point behind. Liverpool are also in close contention, lagging just one positive result behind and with two matches in hand, though the 3-2 comeback victory at St. Mary’s last week certainly helped the South Coast club’s chances.
Southampton had a strong start to 2016, losing their first match but then winning six and drawing the other of their the next seven outings. The side stumbled against Chelsea and Bournemouth, but now are undefeated their last three, including important wins against closely placed rivals Stoke and Liverpool.
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Despite some somewhat lacklustre defensive performances, the team is beginning to look a little more cohesive across the back after months of experimentation. Koeman tinkered with the lineup at the back by swapping between a flat four, three defenders and then five, including two wingbacks. The Dutch manager tried the new formations with varied degrees of success and to much criticism, but now with all his regulars fit and ready he could be prepared to return to a consistent (and possibly more reliable) four.
Since coming in, Koeman has managed to slow the club’s consistent form of building up a talented squad only to see the best cherry picked by other big clubs. That being said though, the latest offseason saw the departures of Morgan Schneiderlin to Manchester United, Nathaniel Clyne to Liverpool and Toby Alderweireld making a move to Tottenham at the conclusion of his loan at Southampton, despite having a buy option as part of his deal.
Koeman responded well with his recruiting though and has managed throughout the season to build himself quite a strong looking squad, especially with the midseason addition of Charlie Austin for a surprisingly low £4 million fee. The return of first choice goalkeeper Fraser Forster has been a major boost, conceding only eight goals in the 10 matches he has been back in between the sticks, which includes an impressive six consecutive clean sheets.
Now with Austin reportedly set to be fit to return to action after the international break, the manager will have no injuries in the squad to speak of and the pick of his entire list. The only major headache appears to be whether both Austin and Graziano Pellè can fit into the lineup, with both seemingly filling the same role. With only Premier League games remaining a cup or other rotation policy does not appear a viable option, Koeman must choose between the consistent Englishman and the in-form Italian as to who he believes will best lead the line in the remaining fixtures.
Still, some may not necessarily want to see the club qualify for European football again after a disastrous campaign at the beginning of 2105-16 seemed to derail the first few months of the Saints’ season. Sneaking through in lieu of Arsenal winning the FA Cup and filling a position in the UCL they had already earned due to their league position, Southampton made it into the Europa League qualifiers. Winning their first tie against Dutch club Vitesse 5-0 over two legs before being knocked out by Danish side FC Midtjylland 2-1 on aggregate. It seemed that the club’s European obligations interfered with their domestic performance with the side winning only once in their opening six matches.
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