This Sunday sees the 2016/17 season come to its conclusion, with Southampton welcoming Stoke City to St Mary’s for the last game.
Stoke and Southampton have had very similar seasons. They’re both set to finish in mid-table and both sets of fans having criticised their respective managers for the style of football and the results that their sides have been producing in recent times. Last weekend Stoke got a 4-1 thrashing by an in-form Arsenal and won’t have much confidence going into this game, whereas Southampton fought hard for a point against Manchester United on Wednesday evening.
Southampton’s defence has been solid and Stoke will no doubt struggle to break them down but the Saints have been really poor in front of goal recently, so we could very well see another goalless affair. Southampton’s players will surely want to finish off the season in style especially as some fans have been unhappy for the majority of the campaign. It will be interesting to see how many fans are left in the stadium for the lap of appreciation.
Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic is a doubt for Sunday’s fixture because of an elbow problem sustained in last weekend’s defeat to Arsenal.
Southampton’s full back Cedric Soares will undergo a fitness test after limping off during the midweek 0-0 draw with Manchester United. Shane Long misses out through a metatarsal injury, while Ryan Bertrand is also a doubt.
I expect it to be a really tight game on Sunday but I’m feeling quite optimistic, and believe Southampton will have too much quality on the day. I think Saints will clinch a 1-0 victory to secure eighth place in what has been a really odd season for Southampton.
