.jpg)
Date/Time: Saturday 9th February 2019 (Kick-off 4:00 PM CET).
Two teams very much involved in the relegation fight will meet on Saturday at St Mary's and I have to expect this will be a game filled with tension knowing how important the three points are to both Southampton and Cardiff City.
Two places and two points separate these clubs, but there are only 13 games left to be played so you cannot discount the importance for the two teams to try and earn the points.
Southampton have been much improved under Ralph Hasenhuttl, but they still struggle to score enough goals and defensively it has still been a work in progress. For Cardiff City every time they have looked about to slump into a deep hole they have managed to produce a big result like they did last weekend to beat Bournemouth at home once a 5 point gap to safety had opened up in the early Saturday games.
The away form of Cardiff City has to be a concern though and I do think it puts a lot of pressure on them to find the points they need in front of their own fans. They have lost 3 straight away games since beating Leicester City and the worst of those was the capitulation at Newcastle United who are another team just a couple of points clear of The Bluebirds in the League table.
I don't think there will be much between these teams and the first goal could be crucial. Tellingly Southampton have managed to score that in 5 of their last 7 Premier League games at home and Cardiff City have conceded first in 7 of their last 9 away League games.
However I am not sure we are going to get a really high-scoring game with the two teams likely going to focus on making sure they don't give too much away. My edge does go to Southampton though and I will back them to win a game featuring three or fewer goals.
Prediction: Southampton win & Under 3.5 Goals
T&Cs apply.
