Southampton return to the St Mary’s for the first time since the 9-0 defeat to Leicester City.
The Saints have endured two clashes with Manchester City since the heavy defeat, losing both.
However, the league clash with City was an encouraging one for the Saints, who led at the Etihad for the majority of the game before the champions staged a late comeback.
This weekend’s clash against Everton is huge, with both teams struggling for form and results. Midfielder Oriol Romeu is eager to bounce back with a victory, and wants his side to make it hard for the visitors. As quoted on the Daily Echo, he said:
I think we’ve seen that if we defend the way we did against Manchester City it will be hard to concede chances.
We need to defend well, protect our goal. Going forward there are things we need to improve, and they will improve that’s for sure. That’s what we have to bring to the next game. It was hard for Manchester City to get chances and score against us.
We want to have the same feeling against Everton. We want to make them feel uncomfortable and make it tough for them.
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Romeu is spot on. The Saint frustrated Manchester City and almost came away with a brilliant result and they’ll need to perform in a similar manner against the Toffees.
This is a big match to get the fans back on their side and there’s no doubt that Ralph Hasenhuttl will have his players fired up and ready for the match.
Everton come into the game with a morale-boost after a stoppage-time equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur. This should be a very intriguing encounter.
