Preview: Southampton vs. Plymouth Argyle - prediction, team news, lineups

Southampton play host to Plymouth Argyle on Friday evening looking to further close the gap on second-placed Ipswich Town.

At a time when the Saints sit in third position in the Championship table, Plymouth currently occupy 16th spot after a four-game undefeated streak of their own.

Match preview

The biggest compliment that you can pay Southampton for their 16-match unbeaten run in the Championship since September is that they have accumulated points in all kinds of fashion.

In their last two home fixtures, though, nine goals have been scored against Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City, Russell Martin's side showcasing their superior quality over the majority of the teams in this division.

Three goals in the final 16 minutes against the latter took away from Swansea remaining competitive for the first three quarters of the contest, but Southampton have now kept four clean sheets in a row at St Mary's.

With Ipswich having failed to win in three games, and holding leaders Leicester City to a draw on Boxing Day, Southampton are now within five points of the automatic promotion places, yet still 11 adrift of Leicester.

Nevertheless, Martin will maintain that the focus is on every game in isolation at a time when they are clearly performing at a level that the Foxes have maintained all season.

As for Plymouth, uncertainty remains as they work with caretaker management, but they continue to edge further away from the relegation zone.

A four-match unbeaten streak has seen the Pilgrims add six points to their tally, the most recent matches being comeback draws versus Birmingham City and Cardiff City respectively.

That has enabled Neil Dewsnip and his team to continue to chip away at their assumed target of 50 points, a total that would likely guarantee safety, but this remains a team that sit just eight points adrift of the playoffs.

Travelling along the South coast to face Southampton theoretically comes at the wrong time for Plymouth when you consider that they are yet to win a single Championship fixture on their travels this campaign.

Southampton Championship form:

• W
• D
• D
• W
• W
• W

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:

• W
• L
• D
• W
• D
• D

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Team News

Although Southampton thrashed Swansea in their last outing, the likelihood is that Martin will make a number of changes to keep his side fresh.

Kyle Walker-Peters and Joe Aribo are among those who have played 90 minutes in the last two matches, with Will Smallbone and Ryan Fraser in contention to replace them.

Unless an alteration is made in defence, the rest of the team may remain the same, with James Bree having been ruled out of the Christmas and New Year period through injury.

Plymouth's interim management must decide whether to stick with the back three that was used for the away game at Cardiff.

Regardless of that, squad rotation is expected with Brendan Galloway, Luke Cundle, Bali Mumba and Finn Azaz among those who could return to the starting lineup.

Southampton possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Stephens, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Manning; Smallbone, Downes, S.Armstrong; Fraser, Edozie; A.Armstrong

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Pleguezuelo, Galloway, Gibson; Kesler-Hayden, Cundle, Butcher, Mumba; Whittaker, Waine, Azaz

We say: Southampton 4-1 Plymouth Argyle

With Plymouth having collected points in their recent matches, the pressure is off to a certain extent. However, Southampton look unbeatable at present and, while we expect the visitors to be competitive for a time, the home side should eventually cruise to victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data

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