When the Saints Come Marching in….

Article by Sunderland Correspondent Ben Mummery

Saturday’s home fixture against Southampton can’t come soon enough for a buoyant Black Cats side, who’s last outing saw them record their biggest win of the season, a 4-1 thrashing of fellow strugglers Fulham at Craven Cottage.

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With no key injury worries, Gus Poyet should be capable of fielding a full strength side, and one imagines the starting eleven will largely resemble the side that took to the field last Saturday.

On paper, and with certain other results in their favour, Sunderland can in theory move as high as fifteenth with a home win this weekend, such is the volatile and compact nature of the bottom quarter of the table. In reality though, the outcome the fans are looking for more than any other, is another good performance, and a win, regardless of the nature of the game.

Many feel that the football being played in recent fixtures has been some of the best played on Wearside in recent years, and with Poyet’s current brand of passing and possession football, the Black Cats should be well capable of surviving relegation, however one thing missing from the team’s performances under Poyet has been a string of consistency. Too often the side has played well, and put in a promising show, then backed it up with a disappointing draw or loss. The ability to achieve back to back wins is what is required to keep Sunderland in the top flight, and this weekend, three points could be massive for Sunderland to go that extra step towards avoiding the drop.

Southampton have had a bit of a rough week, with their chairman resigning, the questionable commitment of their manager only resolved yesterday, and the owner’s commitment definitely in doubt, many foresee a raid of their squad by several of the league’s bigger clubs, which could potentially serve to cause disruption in their ranks. However, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has quickly moved to extinguish talk of a mass exodus, and says the club will look to take the maximum points haul away from the stadium of light this weekend.

With the signing of Argentine centre half Santiago Vergini edging ever closer, and the expected arrival of fellow countryman Scocco expected soon, Gus Poyet is looking to add strength and firepower to his squad, which is a large, positive step in the right direction. To add to this, he has several of his key players hitting their best form, with Ki, Johnson, Bardsley, Cattermole, Manonne and his central defensive partnership all playing out of their skin in recent weeks, hopes are high that the Black Cats can take four points from the south coast club, following on from their 1-1 tie in the reverse game.

Southampton is definitely a fixture from which Sunderland can hope to emerge successful, however they must be at their absolute best, and general opinion is that with the form they showed last weekend at Craven Cottage, a steady haul up the league table could well continue come three o’clock on Saturday.

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