Southampton have not won any of their last five Premier League outings and although they are in the relative comfort of 12th in the Premier League at present they cannot afford to rest on their laurels especially as only three points separate them and Newcastle who currently find themselves in 18th.
This afternoon they play host to a Huddersfield side who although just a place above Southampton in 11th have managed to build something of a buffer between them and the dropzone as they a further three points clear than that of the St Mary’s outfit.
For Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino it has been a case of failing to get any traction when it comes to a run of results, they have never really threatened the top half and continue to find themselves in the upper reaches of the bottom half of the table.
You get the feeling that Southampton are just treading water at the moment, not threatening the teams in the top half of the table while just doing enough to not be pulled into a relegation battle, that is however the situation for now it would only take another games without a win for that situation to become a lot more bleak.
It is two straight defeats for Southampton and only two points from a possible 15, last weekend they made an honest fight of their trip to defending Premier League champions Chelsea but were bested by a goal from Spanish defender Marcos Alonso which gave the Blues all three points.
That followed a heavy defeat by Leicester in which Claude Puel would be afforded a wry smile after bringing his Foxes to the South Coast and making very easy work of his former club as his new charges strolled to a 4-1 victory at St Mary’s.
There opponents Today Huddersfield will certainly come into this game with their tails up after a 4-1 win victory of their own last weekend. David Wagner’s men traveled to Watford and made light work of the Vicarage Road outfit as they earned a second league win in three matches.
The thing with Huddersfield’s form is that it is patchy to say the least but ultimately they are winning games when it matters. They may lose more than they win but the key here is that they do not draw all that much either, therefore why play for a draw in two matches when a loss and a win will end up paying you more points.
It may not lend itself to ever being one of the in form teams in the division but right now it is certainly a tactic that is working for them. We are just one game short of the halfway mark and Huddersfield are already on 21 points, extrapolate that over the course of the season and they will have reached the promised land of 40 points with a couple of games to spare.
But as we know in football life is never that simple, you cannot just mirror the form in one half of the season to the next and David Wagner will be fully aware that his Huddersfield side cannot stop to admire their work as ultimately the job is only half done.
For clubs such as Huddersfield you maintain Premier League survival by picking up points against the teams around you then opposed to the big clubs – the win over Manchester United not withstanding and you would have to say that the Yorkshire outfit have got their blueprint spot on so far.
So they will identify this another game in which they can get more points on the board and not only that further extend the buffer between themselves and the teams below them. However I do think they will come unstuck this afternoon as Southampton manage to find a much welcome win on home turf.
Here is what Social Media thinks will happen – you can still vote on the outcome
Can #Southampton return to winning ways when they take on #Huddersfield
— Dan Tracey (@dantracey1983) December 21, 2017