Southampton

Southampton will try to sign Argentine forward Matias Soule from Juventus if they are promoted to the Premier League, while Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Aston Villa are also interested in the 20-year-old. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

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Wales boss Rob Page has named a 28-man squad for the upcoming semi-final and possible play-off final.

Wales face Finland at Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, 21 March, with a potential final against Poland or Estonia to follow five days later, also in Cardiff, for a place at this summer's European Championship.

Southampton looked like they were slipping out of the race for one of the automatic promotion spots after three losses in four Championship outings, but back-to-back wins over Birmingham City and Sunderland have put Russell Martin's men right back into the picture.

With Leicester City, Leeds United and Ipswich Town all dropping points in one of their two previous matches, there is a real chance that Saints could overtake at least two of their rivals.

However, Martin must sort out the issues in defence, as conceding poor goals is becoming a theme.

The 5-3 win over Huddersfield Town in February gave the fans a sense of thrill, with Saints coming back from 2-0 down to triumph in a fixture that lacked the usual control under the new boss.

Unfortunately, Southampton haven't been able to put things right, conceding 15 goals in their past seven games, losing three times, and recently relying on the team to outscore their opponents rather than outplay them.

The Saints had only conceded 15 goals in their 22 matches before that run, keeping eight clean sheets.

It's fine in the short term but top teams will punish Southampton and not let them back in.

Harry Tizard can be found at The Saints Score, external

Image source, Getty Images

Former Southampton striker Jo Tessem was happy with the Saints' performance in the first half of their 4-2 win over Sunderland on Saturday but believes they played into traps in the second.

Russel Martin's side were 2-0 up at half time but were pegged back to 2-2 after the break before Joe Rothwell's late double secured the three points.

"They should have been out of sight, they played a decent first half," Tessem told the Goin' Home With Adam and Jo podcast.

"When we won the ball, the first thought was to play forward and that's what you have to do to punish teams. You can't just play against a balanced team and expect to score because most goals are scored when you win the ball and in quick transition going forward.

"We did that today with pace, conviction and I'm very happy with the attacks the first half.

"In the second half, Sunderland decided to go forward and be offensive and pressed.

"They played smart against the way we played. We played possession-based football in our own half and by being high they put us under pressure. We made mistakes, they pounced on us, took the ball from us and created chances.

"We played into where they set the traps."

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Southampton manager Russell Martin wants his players to use the hurt of their defeat to Sunderland earlier in the season when they welcome the Black Cats to St. Mary's on Saturday.

The Saints will be looking for revenge after they were hammered 5-0 at the Stadium of Light in September.

"It was probably the worst day we've had together for sure," Martin said in his pre-match news conference.

"It was a long afternoon. They were good and we were in a completely different place to where we are now.

"Do I feel any more about it, do I want to win any more? No, I want to win every game. The feeling we had up there, I've spoke to the players about it and it's an important one. We should still feel hurt by it, and use that to make sure we don't feel that again and feel in a completely different way after tomorrow.

"They played really well on Tuesday and will consider themselves really unfortunate to not get at least a point against Leicester.

"They are a good team, a young team and have a coach who's been there for quite a while now with a few different managers. He knows the players and has been coaching for a long time and done well in his interim spell before.

"He has real clarity in what they're doing. They are really well organised and really well coached, they have some really talented individuals. One of their best qualities is their energy and willingness to run. It will be a difficult game. I'm really looking forward to it."

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton could play a part in something never seen before in English football this season.

If the Saints, Leeds and Leicester manage to secure promotion to the top flight, it will be the first time that all three relegated teams go back up at the first possible opportunity.

If only two of the three teams secure promotion, it will be the seventh time that has happened, with Norwich and Watford in 2020-21 the most recent to achieve this feat.

Kieran McKenna's Ipswich are the team most likely to disrupt this record as they are currently second with 10 games to go.

Game on!

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton's Championship game against Preston North End on Wednesday has been postponed, the club have confirmed.

The match was due to take place at 19:45 GMT, but the club have released a statement explaining the decision has been made in consultation with local authorities and emergency services after a major fire broke out in a building next to St Mary's Stadium.

The incident has caused major disruption in the local area with road closures being put in place while the fire service continue to deal with the situation.

"We are grateful for the cooperation of Preston and the EFL, and while we appreciate the disappointment fans may feel, we hope they will understand the need to put the safety of supporters and staff of both clubs first," the statement read.

"The game will be postponed to a new date, which will be announced in due course, and all tickets for tonight’s match will be valid for the rearranged fixture."

Image source, Southampton FC via Getty Images

Southampton manager Russell Martin says his players will "have to fight for everything" until the end of the season if the Saints are to keep their promotion hopes alive.

Southampton got back to winning ways on Saturday with a 4-3 victory against Birmingham City but their attention has quickly turned to their two home games against Preston North End and Sunderland this week.

In his pre-match news conference, Martin highlighted how much he will need his whole squad in the last stretch of the season.

"We're going to need that," he said. "We have three games this week, it's a huge week for us. I can pretend it's not, but it is.

"We can put ourselves in a really brilliant position. This season is unique. We are averaging two points a game, any other season I think it puts you in the top two by quite some way.

"This season it's not going to be enough, so we have to fight for everything. We have 11 games left and we're going to need everyone, so the squad is going to look different."

Martin is expecting a "hard" test against Preston, who go into Wednesday's game on an unbeaten run of seven league games.

He continued: "We're meeting them at a really difficult time because they are in a really good place.

"We know what to expect. They are very physical, very strong, athletic, powerful and really good at what they do, and the way they play. So they will definitely try to make it hard for us. We have to play in the same way we have done in the past two games.

"The way we start the game has such an effect on everything else. I loved the willingness to risk the ball on Saturday [against Birmingham], to create chances, to run for each other. It felt like the team was back in that sense.

"Now we need to bring that again, that's the challenge, and also make sure we defend in a much better way. We can't go from being so mean and difficult to score against, to the goals we have conceded recently. There needs to be a balance in the game."

Southampton showed their dogged determination against Birmingham City, twice coming from behind to snatch a 96th-minute winner to prove they are not giving up on automatic promotion.

However, as much as the 4-3 triumph over the Blues was vital for the Saints in the Championship, it was also an opportunity for Will Smallbone to show the doubters he is not a weak point in the midfield.

The Republic of Ireland international delivered two assists to help Southampton go ahead in the second half and was pushed in front of the adoring away fans by Russell Martin and Jack Stephens to take in the welcome support.

Everyone can have a poor run of games and be criticised for it. That's football.

But the bombardment of negativity towards the 24-year-old was over the top and unwarranted.

Smallbone featured in all but one of Southampton's 22-game unbeaten streak in the Championship (starting 17) and has been one of Martin's go-to men.

As a club built around giving academy graduates a chance, fans should be proud of the midfielder.

Many players were quick to exit when Southampton were relegated from the Premier League, but Smallbone wanted to stay and prove himself.

He should be held in much higher esteem.

Harry Tizard can be found at The Saints Score, external