Southampton will be hoping to make it three wins on the bounce when they visit Everton on Thursday evening.
The Saints stunned former Premier League champions Manchester City 1-0 at St Mary’s in their last outing on Sunday.
A Che Adams stunner, his first goal for the club, was enough to secure a memorable result on their own ground where they had previously struggled this season.
That result moved Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side onto 43 points with five games to play with them now looking at breaking into the top half of the table and securing the increased prize money that comes with it.
Everton were disappointing in their 1-0 defeat at Tottenham on Monday evening and sit just two places, and one point, above the Saints.
It will be interesting to see how much the manager opts to rotate for this clash because all 11 players put in a huge amount of effort against City (illustrated by having a combined running distance of 123km, eight more than City) with this game coming just four days later.
Moussa Djenepo joins Yan Valery, Sofiane Boufal and Nathan Tella on the injured list while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is apparently only a substitute option for Thursday.
It’s not an easy one this week, but here’s how we predict the side to line up:
GK: Alex McCarthy
McCarthy had one of those days against City where it looked like nothing would beat the Saints stopper.
He is more than capable of having those days and, after firmly putting the mistakes against Arsenal behind him, he will hope for another great game at Goodison Park.
RB: Kyle Walker-Peters
The right-back position has been a problem area this season but Saints seemed to have finally found a dependable option in Walker-Peters.
The 23-year old has impress in his last three outings and if fully recovered, should start.
CB: Jack Stephens
Stephens was deservedly rewarded with BBC’s Man of the Match award on Sunday and it’s nice to see him get some wider recognition after a brilliant season.
CB: Jan Bednarek
The whole of the defence put their bodies on the line against City, Bednarek included.
The Polish centre-back compliments Stephens incredibly well and they both deserve to see out the season.
LB: Ryan Bertrand
Bertrand was looking particularly leggy towards the latter part of Sunday’s victory.
However, he is a regular starter under Hasenhuttl so we predict another start.
CM: Will Smallbone
Oriol Romeu is one of the players that featured on Sunday who has had less match practice in recent weeks.
This may make him more susceptible to being dropped, especially given the fact the Saints are likely to have more of the ball on Thursday which better suits Smalbone’s skillset.
CM: James Ward-Prowse
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was absent on Sunday with a knock but Saints certainly didn’t miss him.
Should the ex-skipper leave this summer, Hasenhuttl can take heart from this display that they can cope without him.
There was one particular moment against Manchester City that showcased why Ward-Prowse is so admired as he bust a gut late on to chase down a ball that looked a lost cause in order to prevent a City goal kick.
If he wanted to, Ward-Prowse could probably play seven 90-minute matches in a week and still have some energy to spare so we don’t expect him to be rested!
RW: Stuart Armstrong
Armstrong is another that put in an unbelievable shift in the last outing.
However, the absence of Moussa Djenepo and Sofiane Boufal may mean that the Scottish international will have to recover quickly in order to start again.
LW: Nathan Redmond
Like Armstrong, even if Hasenhuttl wanted to rest Redmond, he may not have much of a choice.
The winger was largely good up until the final shot/pass on Sunday and will hope for a complete performance against Everton.
ST: Che Adams
Che Adams had an evening to remember on Sunday.
His hard work finally paid off with his first Southampton goal, and there has rarely been a goal that was greeted with such jubilation from fans and players alike who were clearly delighted for the striker.
We’ve gone for another start but we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Shane Long feature in his place.
ST: Danny Ings
While it was a very good weekend for Southampton, it could’ve gone better for Ings in his battle for the golden boot.
Elsewhere, Jamie Vardy scored a double against Crystal Palace which stretched his advantage to three.
Ings does have a good record against the Toffees though, having scored in three of his four games against them while playing for the Saints, whilst he also netted for Liverpool against the Blues in a Merseyside derby.