Leeds United return to Elland Road on Saturday to take on Southampton in what is undoubtedly their biggest game of the season so far. Win and Leeds could move out of the bottom three, lose and they will hit rock bottom in the Premier League table.
Ahead of the clash, Leeds Live spoke to Hampshire Live’s Southampton reporter Mark Wyatt to get the inside track on the Saints.
Southampton are bottom of the league and they’ll travel to Leeds without a permanent manager. Sum up the mood around St Mary’s at the minute…
Ruben Selles has been at the club since August so he worked under Ralf Hasenhuttl and Nathan Jones and now he’s got his chance to step up and the club seem to be fairly happy with him doing that at the moment. The result at Chelsea has massively helped that, just a second clean sheet of the season, a second Premier League win since October.
Read more: Javi Gracia's first Leeds United selection headaches as he plans for Southampton bow
If they hadn’t won that game, they would have been six points adrift at the bottom and you probably could have said that’s got to be curtains for Southampton in the Premier League this season. But, what that result has done is give everyone a lift, it’s given Selles himself a lift, the players are a lot more invigorated by that result and by him. They’re just looking to try and build that positivity into what is easily the biggest game of Southampton’s season so far at Elland Road this weekend.
Former Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch was in the frame at St Mary’s at one point, how did the fans react to that?
I think he divided the fanbase a little bit. I think anybody after Nathan Jones probably would have been accepted with open arms. Nathan had really fractured the fanbase with some of his comments towards the end of his tenure and obviously only lasting three months, losing seven of his eight Premier League games, it just couldn’t have gone worse for him.
Anybody coming in could have done quite well. The Red Bull links helped and this Southampton team know how to play under that kind of style. I think, as well, after Jones’ comments, Jesse is seen is a very good orator and communicator and that was seen as a definite positive and a step in the right direction. It didn’t work out and Southampton have moved on and seem to be quite happy for the time being with Ruben, but when those initial Jesse Marsch links came in, I don’t think anyone was massively upset.
I know the timing of him being sacked by Leeds might not point to the best idea, but there’s a lot of respect there for what Jesse had accomplished in his career and the biggest thing is obviously that Red Bull link. Southampton need stability and they need something they’re aware of and they know from their past and with Ralf being there for four years that would have been a syncretic appointment. It hasn’t happened and all you can do at this point is move on, I guess.
Saturday’s game is huge from a Leeds perspective but how significant is Saturday for Southampton?
It has to be seen as make or break. This is a kind of stay of execution that Southampton have had. They’ve been really, really lucky since the World Cup break that clubs around them haven’t opened up that gap from not only the bottom three but 20th, which is where they’ve been rooted since pretty much Boxing Day. Whilst they have continued to lose, the teams around them haven’t picked up the wins to stretch themselves out.
We’re getting to the point where Everton have picked up results and Bournemouth are trying to get themselves out of it, there’s so many clubs around that look like they’re hitting form. Southampton have needed to get into this run and needed to come into this Leeds game holding onto something, which they did do with the Chelsea win. It will all be in vain if they win at Chelsea and get beaten by the team in 19th away.
Leeds are probably the favourites for this one, but, just as it is for Leeds, this is Southampton’s biggest game of the season by a very long way.
What gives you confidence Southampton can get the result?
The first thing is confidence and motivation, which we all know plays a massive role in football and I think that Chelsea win will give them a lift. I asked Ruben Selles after the game, earlier this season they beat Chelsea at St Mary’s under Ralf and they also beat Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, two incredible results, but they couldn’t back them up and use them to spring them into a bit of form. The biggest thing for Ruben Selles is going to be making sure he can do that this time around and use the Chelsea win to push them into the Leeds game.
They’ve got all the ideas. They’ve gone back to a very simple structure. They played a 4-2-2-2 at Chelsea that worked really well. They used players that knew the system well and they didn’t try to tinker with the team too much. I don’t think there’ll be any issues with what the players know they need to do at Elland Road, but it’ll just be a case of what happens on the day. You can’t call those moments in the Premier League that happen and the goals that fly in.
I think it’s going to be interesting and Southampton need to go into the game as calm as possible and not let the occasion overawe them, which with a young squad can happen.
Where can Leeds get at Southampton?
The age of the squad profile is so young, they have brought in so many young players over the last 12 months and lost a lot of experienced ones. So, when Southampton get backed into a corner, they’re not usually too great at coming back into it, but, I will say at St Mary’s in the reverse fixture, Leeds went 2-0 up and Saints came back to 2-2 in front of the home fans. There is still something there, there is an edge, but if I were Leeds I’d be telling them to be aggressive and get in Southampton’s faces.
Saints aren’t the pressing monster team that they used to be under Hasenhuttl and they’ve lost a bit of that edge. They still have quality in key positions but they’re not the team that are really going to be fighting in your face and throwing everything they’ve got into the top end of the pitch, or at least they haven’t been this season. Leeds need to do exactly that, from minute one get the crowd behind them and make it difficult for Southampton because if you put pressure on them, form suggests they won’t be able to deal with it very well.
How do you see the game going?
I can’t lie, I think if Leeds get the first goal in this one I think they will win it. I can’t see Southampton coming back into the game like they did back in August. But, off the back of a 1-0 win and a clean sheet at Chelsea, I’ve got to try and salvage some kind of hope so I’ll back Saints to get the win, 1-0, and make the end of the season really interesting.
READ NEXT:
Javi Gracia tasked with unlocking Leeds United asset following Victor Orta transfer gamble
Promotions, titles, and Valencia 'betrayal' - Javi Gracia route to becoming Leeds United head coach
How Leeds United's line-up could evolve under new head coach Javi Gracia
Leeds United and Everton charged by FA following Goodison Park brawl
Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu fires Leeds United warning amid coach impact claim
