Southampton’s opponents this weekend Aston Villa are one of the form sides in the Premier League whereas Saints are not – Sherwood’s Villains pose a tricky fixture for Koeman and his side at St. Mary’s this weekend.
Southampton have stuttered in their final push for European football, early season unbeaten runs seem a distant memory in the context of this season – no wins in their last four matches; the Battle to avoid the Europa League maybe?
Finishing in a Europa League is no longer in Saints’ hands as two losses against relegation-threatened Leicester and Sunderland kept them in seventh when all around were also dropping points – failure to capitalise on a dismal Spurs showing at Stoke last week will be an extra source of frustration for all on the South Coast.
If Southampton finish seventh, it is up to Arsenal to beat tomorrow’s opponents Aston Villa to gift them Europe due to UEFA rule changes brought in this year, which mean the FA Cup runners-up do not get a pass into Europe.
Koeman still believes that Europa League is achievable this season and listed four points from the next two games to guarantee this aim.
The Dutchman said: “If we win Saturday then we will have a good possibility to achieve the sixth or the seventh position in the table. That makes the season a special one in my opinion.
“I think it’s all about ourselves and to improve again at home and to play our football. We need to show there is belief, there is a lot of ambition to finish the season on a good level.
“It’s all about us and not about Swansea. We have to win. If we win [the remaining two games] they can’t pass us on the table. It’s up to us.”
Aston Villa are still not safe from the drop and a win in the early kick-off on Saturday would guarantee them safety before any of their rivals have even kicked a ball.
Since Tim Sherwood’s appointment, there has been nothing but positivity around a club that seemed lifeless for so long and Villa are now exciting to watch – Christian Benteke is leading a frontline, supplemented by Fabian Delph and Jack Grealish, that is thriving under new management.
In the 11 games since Sherwood took over, Villa have scored 20 goals; in the 25 Premier League previous to this under Paul Lambert they scored 12, sometimes going months on end without scoring a goal.
They’re form is good – their last six games have only seen two losses, against the two Manchester clubs, three wins (including a symbolic victory at White Hart Lane) and one draw. Southampton, on the other hand, have only won one in six and have struggled against teams fighting for survival too.
It was all square between the two teams in the reverse fixture at Villa Park, Nathaniel Clyne’s powerful strike was cancelled out by Gabby Agbonlahor who capitalised on a mistake from Fraser Forster.
James Ward-Prowse returns from suspension following his red card against Sunderland however Dusan Tadic and Morgan Schneiderlin are still sidelined with injury.
In the Saints’ final home game of the season, fans heading to St. Mary’s are in for an entertaining match against an extremely likeable Aston Villa and, of course, a lap of honour at the end of the game.
