Foxes of Leicester
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Leicester City Vs Southampton: Q & A with Saints Marching

By Harneet Singh Sethi

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: Maya Yoshida of Southampton scores his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Southampton and Leicester City at St Mary's Stadium on December 13, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: Maya Yoshida of Southampton scores his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Southampton and Leicester City at St Mary's Stadium on December 13, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City take on a Southampton in a must-win game for both the sides, at least for the Saints who are facing the prospect of relegation.

The last time these two sides met, it was Claude Puel’s Leicester that emerged victorious on the Frenchman’s return to the St. Mary’s Stadium, as the Foxes trounced the home side by a remarkable 4-1, thanks to a brace from Shinji Okazaki, and a goal each for Riyad Mahrez and Andy King.

A lot has changed since, with both the sides moving in opposite directions – Leicester City upwards and Southampton downwards.

With all the signs pointing towards a win for Leicester, will Mark Hughes’ spirited side spring a surprise at the King Power Stadium? Or will it be more of the same? Foxes of Leicester talked to Saints Marching’s Site Expert, Chris Hughes, to assess the possibilities:

Q. First things first, do you think you’ve got any chance of survival?

"I think this game is do or die – I’ve been an optimist all campaign but I think its realistic to say that if other teams pick up points tonight and the gap extends to seven or eight points then with only four games remaining then I would consider it a forgone conclusion."

Q . Where exactly has it all gone wrong for Southampton? Teams, particularly the big six, weren’t too fond of facing them about a couple seasons back, so how has it come to this?

"I think a lot of it had stemmed from poor recruitment. We’ve sold players and managed to replace them but upon another rotation it hasn’t been as successful.Adam Lallana was arguably replaced with Sadio Mane who we then replaced with Nathan Redmond who has struggled to even stay in the starting XI this season."

Related Story: Preview: Downbeat Leicester City take on doomed Southampton

Q. The winning run has to start now (obviously), and you’ve got Leicester City first up. What do you think are the chances of inflicting a third consecutive defeat on them?

"You’d hope that the Saints would be keen to avenge the 4-1 loss from earlier this season and we’ve been really positive in the last two games against Chelsea and Arsenal. This game is literally going to be a cup final for the players so you’d hope they’d be motivated and fired-up for the occasion."

Q. Who do you recognise as the main threat against the Foxes? 

"Whether he starts or comes off the bench Charlie Austin will be a threat on the attacking side of things but creatively we’ll look to James Ward-Prowse and Dusan Tadic.The latter scored a smart goal against Chelsea so should be confident having been inconsistent all campaign."

Next: Leicester City, Claude Puel and the patience game

Q. The one area that you’d like to see your team exploit when up against a currently out of form Leicester City?

"Dependent on how we set up I’d like to see us to attack the full-backs as they seem the weakest part of a fairly strong set-up. Considering how aerially dominant Harry Maguire can be, I’d like the side fizz balls into the box to the feet of Austin/Long."