Saints take on Tranmere Rovers in their quest to make it four wins in a row in the League
Saints continue on the promotion traail against ssecond from bottom Tranmere Rovers, as documented on this site, Saints need to av erage 2 points a game between now and the end of the season if they are to stand any chance of promotion and if they are to do that, then winning their home games are a must, especially if its against the lower sides.
Beating Rovers would make it three out of three in December and 3/4 of the way towards the minimum 12 points needed from the six difficult game in the month.
However as we have seen in recent weeks the bottom sides can cause Saints problems, however its time a side was given a real beating at St Mary's and Tranmere should technically be the sidde to be on the end of it, with only one win and one draw out of ten games on the road, with only six goals scored and twenty three conceded, on paper Saints should be confident of a victory.
Selection wise Alan Pardew shouldnt have too many headaches, apart from an injury to Graeme Murty, which if reports are true will keep him out for six weeks, however Saints have the quantity and quality in the squad to cover this and options include restoring Lloyd James or slotting in Wayne Thomas, if James is reverted back into the defence then other options include Wotton in the centre or bringing in either Schneiderlin or Lallana to the centre and picking either Mikail or Waigo out wide.
If everyone else is fit and Pardew opts for Thomas at the back, off the bench the fire power of Antonio Mikail, Papa Waigo and even Matt Paterson is a luxury few sides have at this level.
The key for Saints is to get an early goal and then put the visitors to the sword, confidence is at a high and the only thing missing from the season so far is a comprehensive victory and by that I mean more than the three goals we seem able to score on the road with ease, but find it a little harder at home.
But if Saints can win with style then they will send a few warnings ahead, for what will be the biggest game of the season so far as well as the hardest, when they travel to Leeds the following Saturday.
I cant see anything else than a good victory for Saints, but as we all know the form book means nothing for Saints, it never has and probably never will, however with at least four players in the side capable of hitting at least double figures and more in a season, who would bet against Saints being the divisions top scorers in May, however if they are to do that, then a few good home victories are a must and they need to start now.