Saturday May 5 (17.30 UK), Goodison Park, BT Sport 1
Southampton have another tough obstacle to overcome in their fight for Premier League survival this weekend when they face Everton at Goodison Park.
One point off safety with three games to play, Mark Hughes' men will know that three points are vital if they are to stand a chance of avoiding the drop this season.
In their way are an improving Everton side who are not only strong at home, but also head into the fixture with 10 points from their last 12.
Another victory for the Toffees would go some way to cementing eighth place ahead of Leicester - although whether that will be enough to help polarising manager Sam Allardyce keep his job beyond the summer remains to be seen.
Team news
Everton are likely to be unchanged for Saturday's game following the comfortable win over Huddersfield last weekend.
The Blues have won three of their last four, conceding just one goal in the process, with a settled defence containing Seamus Coleman, Phil Jagielka, Michael Keane and Leighton Baines finally starting to gel at this late point in the campaign. As such, changes should be few and far between, although Argentine international Ramiro Funes Mori is pushing for game-time ahead of this summer's World Cup.
Elsewhere, Morgan Schneiderlin's recent improvement may well result in another start alongside Idrissa Gueye but Wayne Rooney's poor 2018 - the veteran has yet to register a goal or assist so far this year - could result in him losing his place to Tom Davies.
Nikola Vlasic and Yannick Bolasie will fight it out for a place on the left-wing, while young striker Fraser Hornby could profit from injury to Dominic Calvert-Lewin to make his league debut off the bench. The towering 18-year-old has been training with the Blues' first-team this week after impressing in the Under-23s.
Visitors Southampton, meanwhile, head into the crunch clash with a relatively clean bill of health. Indeed, captain Steven Davies is the only expected absentee for the game at Goodison Park in what is a boost to manager Mark Hughes.
Victory last time around against Bournemouth means the Welshman could well keep faith with the same system and personnel that brought success last weekend.
Alex McCarthy's form in goal should be enough to see him retain his place over former England prospect Fraser Forster in between the sticks, while Hughes' favoured 3-4-3 sees wing-backs Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand look to provide regular crosses for lone striker Charlie Austin.
Should midfielders Oriol Romeu and Mario Lemina get hold of enough possession in the middle of the park to supply Bertrand and Co, frontman Austin will fancy his chances of emulating the brace he scored against an admittedly weaker Everton in the reverse fixture back in November.
What they said
Sam Allardyce: "From my point of view, the effort of the team and the turnaround of results speaks for itself. We have improved the level of the team consistently now. The players are giving everything they have got.
"I always enjoy the job; I like the challenge and I meet it head on. That has always been the case and everyone has pushed in the right direction. We have got ourselves in a favourable position in the league and we want to stay unbeaten (for the rest of the season).
"It’s an entertainment game. You’re trying to capture hearts and minds. There’s always room for improvement and hopefully there will be tomorrow.”
Mark Hughes (*to the Southampton Daily Echo*): “Sam’s a very experienced manager who demands a lot of his players and he won’t allow them to taper off their season. I would imagine they will want to finish well.
“They are at home in front of their own fans who will demand a certain level. They have paid good money to see them and you can’t allow the season to taper off because of how significant the game is to us compared to Everton because you still have a responsibility to the club and the fans.
“If we can build momentum on the back of the Bournemouth result then clearly that is going to help us at this stage of the season. Back-to-back results is massive at any stage of the season because invariably it shoves you up the table and we haven’t been able to do it on too many occasions.
“If we are able to manage it at the weekend then clearly that is a huge boost for us in terms of what we have ahead of us.”
Expected starting lineups
Everton: Pickford; Coleman, Jagielka, Keane, Baines; Gueye, Schneiderlin, Rooney; Walcott, Vlasic, Tosun
Southampton: McCarthy, Bednarek, Yoshida, Hoedt; Cedric, Romeu, Lemina, Bertrand; Tadic, Redmond, Austin
Prediction
It's a case of now or never for Southampton as they bid to stay in the Premier League.
Last weekend's crucial win over south coast rivals Bournemouth has sparked fresh belief at St Mary's that relegation could be staved off this season - but Mark Hughes' men remain in a perilous position one point off the drop nevertheless.
Defeat could well sound the death knell to the Saints' chances of staying up, and despite the magnitude of the occasion for the visitors, hosts Everton should have enough to emerge triumphant on home turf.
Everton 2-1 Southampton
