On Saturday, Saints travel to the Hawthorns to play West Bromwich Albion as both sides contest for 8th place in the Premier League. Can Puel's side make it two wins in a row., Dan takes his usual look at the game.

Claude Puel’s men recorded an important 3-1 win against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night which put them in ninth place whereas West Brom were beaten 2-0 by Watford at Vicarage Road last time out.

Despite slight inconsistency of late, West Brom have stunned all viewers of the Premier League as they are currently sat in eighth place of the table with 44 points recorded after 31 games, more than they had recorded in the entirety of last season.

Backed for a relegation battle at the beginning of the season, the Baggies find themselves closer to the Champion League than the Championship with just seven games to go.

As for Saints, we all know the story of late. They were lucky to get a point against Bournemouth when three should’ve been recorded anyways but a win against Palace in midweek deflated any fears of a relegation battle among the fans.

With nine games left, the objective for Saints must be to record as many points as possible and climb up the table as much as possible; realistically they can only finish up to eighth. A win against Tony Pulis’ side would definitely give them a boost as they would find themselves just four points behind West Brom with two games in hand (albeit they’re against Arsenal and Manchester United).

West Brom’s dangermen seem to be based in their midfield with Matthew Phillips and Nacer Chadli being very impressive wingers and Christ Brunt also proving to be a threat. Solomon Rondon’s talent is also well-known to the other teams in the league, despite suffering a goal drought. Funnily enough Gareth McAuley is also a goal-threat as the 37- year old defender is Albion’s joint goal scorer for the season.

For the Saints it will be unknown who starts upfront as Manolo Gabbiadini could return after suffering a groin injury, however Shane Long or Jay Rodriguez will lead the line if Gabbiadini isn’t fit but the decision of who plays between the two is unknown. Nathan Redmond has recently found his red-hot form with three goals in four games.

Adding to his tally on Wednesday, Redmond also recorded an assist in a Man of the Match performance against the Eagles. It is also unknown whether Ryan Bertrand will be fit to play but Sam McQueen has been excellent in all of his cameo appearances this season.

Prediction: This isn’t a must-win game as the only extra benefit of finishing eighth over ninth or tenth is more prize money. However, it will be a statement of intent from the club if they do finish eighth as this would mean that Southampton would’ve recorded top-eight finishes in each of the last four Premier League seasons.

And achieving that statement of intent starts with the trip to the Midlands. I’ll say a 1-1 draw if Gabbiadini isn’t fit but a 3-1 win if he is.

Photo: Action Images

Macclesfield Town Polls