Everton vs Southampton – Match Preview

Although Everton start the weekend lying 8th in the Premier League the rumblings of discontent around Goodison Park seem to be getting louder with each week that passes. The reason being that the fans have not taken to current boss Sam Allardyce.

It’s been a strange season for Everton, after all their expenditure last Summer they have ended up going backwards. They aspired to break the top six under previous boss Ronald Koeman but will have to make do with just a top half finish.

Not only that but it seems as if the Everton fans are not warming to manager Allardyce. They feel that the football on show is safety first. But at the same time, it is that approach that has lifted the club at the table, it seems as if Big Sam is dammed if he does and dammed if he doesn’t.

The former one-time England bosses’ future is still up in the air with mixed reports as to whether he will still be on Merseyside at the start of next season and should Everton not finish the campaign well then it is a question that could be answered for him.

This Saturday sees them play host to a Southampton side who have had their hopes of beating the drop boosted after a win over Bournemouth last weekend. There needs to be more of the same though if Mark Hughes’ men are going to complete the great escape.

They are playing with more belief as of late, something that was witnessed in their F.A. Cup Semi-final defeat to Chelsea. Although they may have lost they now seem to have lost the fear factor which has gripped them over the past few months.

The belief in the camp has been restored and the one key aspect you need at this point of the season is momentum. Something that they will have gained after that huge win over local rivals Bournemouth last Saturday.

And with Everton having little to play for then there is every chance that the Saints could use this to their advantage especially as they then face Swansea in a huge relegation six-pointer the following midweek.

That fixture against Swansea is going to be arguably the biggest of the season, not just for those two clubs but also in the whole division. It might not be a title at stake but the financial pitfalls that came with relegation are huge and it could well be a case of winner takes all.

Quite simply the Southampton players need to stand up and be counted, there is no doubting that the squad is talented enough to beat the drop and arguably should not be this far down the table. Now is the time to test that resolve and grind out a set of huge results.

If results go their way then Southampton could go into that game outside of the bottom three. Quite simply the Hampshire outfit need to do their bit first and worry about the others later, something that they will fancy doing on Saturday especially if they record successive wins and keep their survival dreams alive.