With only four games remaining in the Premier and the battle for Europe tighter than ever Southampton go into Saturday’s game at Sunderland knowing only a win will do.
Last weekend’s draw with Tottenham was seen as frustrating by Ronald Koeman, who believed his side should have taken all three points, but Liverpool dropping points to West Brom and Hull since then has blown the race for the Europa League wide open.
Liverpool and Spurs sit level on points in fifth and sixth, respectively, with the Saints only a point behind but with a much better goal difference.
Southampton will be under no illusions that despite their run-in appearing to be rather kind, on paper; their remaining fixtures pose a real challenge as their next three games are against teams scrapping at the bottom to avoid relegation.
Saints striker Graziano Pelle is aware of this potential difficulty but says the squad want to give the fans ‘something special’ from this season despite already beating the club’s previous Premier League record points total.
Pelle said: “We know we won’t go there with the thought that we are going to win easy. For them, this moment, it’s important for them to win.
“They are fighting for the relegation – they have a lot of motivation.
“For us, we want to make something special. As points, we went already on top of the last year – it’s a new record for Southampton – but for us it’s not enough.
“It’s something for which the supporters [will be] really happy, not easy to forget and will stay always in the memory. We have to try to fight until the very end.”
The Italian forward will no doubt play an important role in Saints’ final push after resurgence in form has seen him score three goals in his last three games.
Sunderland are still fending for their lives at the bottom of Premier League table – despite picking up four points in his first four games in charge, Dick Advocaat has overseen his side dropping into the relegation spots.
This season’s previous meeting will be of no comfort at all to this Saturday’s home side, either – the reverse fixture at St. Mary’s saw Southampton dish out an 8-0 drubbing to the Black Cats – who were, at that point, under the management of Gus Poyet.
The Saints will be without midfield linchpin Morgan Schneiderlin who could have made his last appearance in a Southampton shirt after he damaged knee ligaments in the draw against Tottenham with rumours still circling around his future at the club.
Dusan Tadic is also out with a groin injury while Victor Wanyama looks set to return in midfield following his suspension picked up away at Stoke.
