After being on the unlucky side of a 2-2 draw against Arsenal last weekend, Southampton now face two games back-to-back that they simply have to win.
Watford and Norwich City both make the trip down south to St. Mary’s in the next two weeks, with the Hornets first up in Southampton’s relegation battle royale that could see the landscape of this season’s fight for Premier League survival shake-up massively.
Will Southampton's season kick-off from here?AbsolutelyNo way, we need major improvements |
And for Watford, who currently sit bottom of the league table with just one win to their name all season, they have received a big boost heading to the south coast this weekend with The Evening Standard reporting that Roberto Pereyra has returned to training.
Indeed, the return of the former Juventus midfielder, who was signed by Watford for a reported fee of £13m according to The Guardian, will be a welcome return to for Quique Sanchez Flores, who The Telegraph report is on the brink of being sacked from the Hertfordshire club for a second time in his career if results don’t improve in the next few weeks.
But Pereyra’s comeback from short-term injury could be vital for the Hornets, and for Southampton, it has made their task of picking up three points against Watford that much easier with the Argentine international back in the fold.
As stats from Understat show, Pereyra is one of Watford’s most productive attacking players this season, with the 28-year-old averaging per 90 minutes and xG of 0.20 and an xA of 0.13, higher numbers than the likes of Troy Deeney, Dany Welbeck and club-record signing Ismaila Sarr.
Southampton are in desperate need of three points to distant themselves from the relegation zone and to kick-start their season, but the return of Pereyra has potentially thrown a spanner in the works for Ralph Hasnehuttl’s side, and a win looks a more difficult task with the Argentine back in the fold.
