Can Southampton Qualify For A European Spot This Season?

The weekend before last saw Southampton march into the top four of the Premier League. While it surprised many, those that had been watching the Saints from the start this season, as well as the back end of last, would have been expecting their upsurge in the table.

Nigel Adkins was, perhaps unfairly, given the boot of Southampton’s Italian chairman Nicola Cortese. However, his replacement has excelled in transforming the side.

Mauricio Pochettino was sacked from Espanyol in 2012 after they sat bottom of La Liga, but has gone about his plans on turning Saints into a silky-but-drilled side in the Premier League.

The Hampshire club have conceded just twice in the league this season – the least in the entire league – and have scored seven, seeing them joint on points with third place Chelsea.

The pressing style has worked wonders and has allowed them to shut out many opponents by frustrating them and  forcing them into mistakes.

A nice thing about Southampton is that they don’t rely on just Rickie Lambert to score goals anymore. Although the lumpy forward is their leading scorer, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Pablo Osvaldo, Jose Fonte and Jay Rodriguez have all hit the back of the net also.

They are a physical threat, they have strength in depth and they are tough to penetrate. Although the Champions League may be a tad out of their reach, there is no reason as to why they can’t clinch a Europa League spot.