Go back a couple of weeks and no one in their right mind would have said Southampton have any chance of the top two, and were destined for the playoffs. But a rise in form, coupled with the front three all stumbling, and with four games to play, The Saints have a chance. This weekend they travel away from home on Saturday to face mid table Cardiff.
Cardiff Form GuideCardiff begin the weekend in 11th, and if that's where they end up at the end of the season then they'll be thrilled with that. They could move up or down a couple of places depending on results. At one point they managed to drag themselves into the playoff battle, a push I thought was going to be too far.
They've continued to play fairly well, despite having little to play for, with two wins and three defeats from their last five games. They lost 3-1 away at Millwall last weekend, but a few days before that, won 1-0 away from home against Birmingham.
Southampton Form GuideIt's now four unbeaten and wins in their last three games for Southampton, the run that is keeping the automatic promotion hopes alive within their fans. With 84 points they are three off Leeds in 3rd, four off Leicester and 5th off Ipwich, but they have a game in hand on both Leeds and Ipswich, which would bring the teams much closer together.
While the others are playing with pressure, Southampton aren't, whatever happens here is unexpected and you can tell that in performances. They won 3-0 at home to Preston last weekend, and won 3-2 at home to Watford and 2-1 at home to Coventry in their two games before.
Match PredictionA huge game for Southampton and I am backing them for the win. The automatic promotion race is on, and I think they bag another three points here, to further increase the pressure they are putting on the top three.
