- Sides drew 0-0 Aug. 12 at St. Mary’s
- West Brom relegated by non-draw
- Saints lead all-time 33W-16D-20L
There’s gamesmanship afoot as Southampton prepares to visit Swansea City in a massive relegation six-pointer Tuesday at the Liberty Stadium (Watch live at 2:45 p.m. ET on NBCSN and online on NBCSports.com).
The Daily Mail claims that Southampton was denied its hotel reservations ahead of the crucial clash with claims of a virus in the building, only to learn that the hotel was accepting guests.
[ MORE: JPW on the $230m match ]
That’s ironic given Swans’ status as gracious hosts: Only Stoke has lost more home league matches than Swansea’s eight, though four of their six wins have come since Jan. 22
Southampton has shown a knack for getting points away from home, with eight draws and two wins amongst their 18 results.
But Saints will know three points are huge with a visit from Man City its final match of the season while Swans at home to already relegated Stoke City.
What they’re saying
Swans’ Jordan Ayew is counting on home field advantage: “Time is running out, but we are confident when we play at home. With the support of the fans, we can beat any team. We’re not scared of anyone and we can get a lot of points at home. We know that we have two more tough games, but we can only take one at a time. Everything is in our hands and we need to win the games.”
Southampton’s Hughes on Saturday hero Redmond’s season struggles: “Sometimes he was being too sure, rather than being the natural player he is but I thought he was excellent when he came on, clearly understood what was required of him and when we made the change, that shows he is engaged and focused on what is happening on the pitch.”
Prediction
Saints have more quality in attack, and that could be enough. Neither of these teams are particularly good at defending, and Swans will know it needs a win even more than their visitors. Call it 3-2 to Southampton in a thriller.