Southampton travel to West Ham this weekend in what will be a potentially season-defining fixture for both sides.
New Saints boss Mark Hughes takes charge of his first league match with his new side, after guiding them to the FA Cup semi-finals two weeks ago.
The importance of this match cannot be underestimated, with Saints sitting just two points and one place behind the Hammers and in the relegation zone. Victory for Hughes’ men at a hostile London Stadium would mean that they would leapfrog West Ham, and begin to make up some ground on the teams above.
In this fixture last season, a resounding 3-0 win for the Saints stretched their winning run to four consecutive games.
Charlie Austin broke the deadlock with a tidy finish just before half-time, as he connected well with Ryan Bertrand’s low cross.
This was followed by a lovely team goal, ending with Dusan Tadic producing a wonderful dummy to send Adrian the wrong way before tapping home into an empty net.
The three points were secured when James Ward-Prowse netted with a low finish in injury time after a scramble in the area.
Southampton will be hoping to conjure up another exceptional performance, as they begin a new era under Mark Hughes and battle to get out of relegation trouble.
