Claudio Ranieri’s side travel to St Mary’s to face the Saints in what could be described as a relegation six-pointer
Southampton host Fulham on Wednesday night with both teams staring relegation in the face and desperate to pick up points in their bids for Premier League survival.
The Saints have slumped back into poor form after a promising start under Ralph Hassenhuttl, while Fulham are still looking poor all over the pitch since the arrival of Claudio Ranieri.
Southampton can move out of the drop zone with a win against Fulham at St Mary’s, leapfrogging fellow strugglers Cardiff City.
The visitors are too far adrift to move anywhere in the table beyond 19th, but they could close the gap on Cardiff in 17th to five points and the Saints in 18th to four points.
| Game | Southampton vs Fulham |
| Date | Wednesday, February 27 |
| Time | 7:45pm GMT / 2:45pm ET |
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed via NBC Sports Gold.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | NBC Sports Gold |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be shown on television or streamed.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
| Position | Southampton players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | McCarthy, Forster, Gunn, Rose |
| Defenders | Vestergaard, Hoedt, Stephens, Yoshida, Bednarek, Targett, Cedric, Bertrand |
| Midfielders | Lemina, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong, Davis, Redmond, Elyounoussi, Hojbjerg |
| Forwards | Ings, Austin, Long, Gallagher |
Mario Lemina is unavailable for this game as he is out with an abdominal strain.
Possible Southampton starting XI: McCarthy; Cedric, Vestergaard, Yoshida, Bertrand; Romeu, Hojbjerg; Redmond, Armstrong, Elyounoussi; Ings
| Position | Fulham players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Fabri, Rico, Bettinelli |
| Defenders | Mawson, Nordtveit, Bryan, Odoi, Ream, Christie, Le Marchand, S.Sessegnon, Fosu-Mensah |
| Midfielders | Chambers, Cairney, Seri, Cisse, Anguissa, |
| Forwards | Mitrovic, Kebano, Ayite, Babel, Markovic, Schurrle, R. Sessegnon, |
Alfie Mawson may return to action in this match whilst Marcus Bettinelli is out with an injury.
Possible Fulham starting XI: Rico, Christie, Ream, Nordtveit, Bryan; Cairney, Chambers, Seri, Sessegnon; Babel, Mitrovic
Southampton are odds on favourites to win this match at 19/20. Fulham are available to back at 16/5 whilst the draw is 13/5.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
It has been a miserable season for both of these sides which they can only hope to end with surviving relegation.
Southampton have the opportunity to move out of the drop zone against Fulham whereas anything but a win for the Whites would pretty much confirm their return to the Championship.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice in the reverse fixture, which was Claudio Ranieri’s first game in charge, and the Italian will need his star striker to be at his very best if they are to get anything here.
Ranieri’s optimism is fading, admitting that it would be a miraculous run of form if Fulham survived this season after their loss at West Ham.
“It will be a miracle,” said Ranieri. “But we must fight together. If you fight you have one chance, if you don’t you won’t.”
Southampton, on the other hand, have a real shot at survival if they can recapture the form shown upon Hasenhuttl’s arrival.
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Cardiff, Brighton, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Newcastle will all be looking behind them at the result in this relegation six-pointer.
