Southampton Aim for Five on the Spin In Trip to Millwall | OneFootball

Southampton will make the trip to East London in an attempt to make it five wins from five against a strong Millwall side, who are only two points away from the automatic spots.

But how are each of them performing at the moment? Will Tonda see Eckert solidify himself as the Saints manager, and what to expect ahead of the clash this Saturday?

Current Form

Last Five Games

Millwall

Southampton

Millwall have scraped one victory in their past five. Draws against Oxford and Preston — alongside conceding seven goals in two losses against Birmingham and Portsmouth — have undermined their brilliant start to the season. If they could’ve held onto their lead against Oxford, they’d be on an equal points tally to Stoke and Middlesbrough — teams occupying the tight battle for second place.

Southampton have turned a corner, accumulating 12 points in their past four turnouts. The Saints sat 21st in the table before this recent run, with Tonda Eckert leading the South Coast outfit to 13th, two points off the playoffs and just six points away from automatics. Scoring 13 goals has seen them score the fourth-most goals in the division. A 3-0 win over Leicester in midweek exercised Eckert’s claim as manager, gaining a long-awaited clean sheet and a comfortable victory over a fellow relegated team.

Injuries & Suspensions

Millwall

Southampton

Manager Quotes

Regarding his immediate future, Eckert stayed focused on Millwall, wanting his side to maintain their current form:

Manager Alex Neil based his team selection on his opponents, Sheffield Wednesday, and hinted at a different approach ahead of Saturday:

Predicted Lineups

Millwall (4-5-1): Crocombe; McNamara, Taylor, Cooper, Doughty; Ballo, Neghli, de Norre, Cundle, Emakhu, Ivanovic

Southampton (3-4-3): Bazunu; Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Stephens; Fellows, Jander, Bragg, Manning; Azaz, Armstrong, Scienza

Eckert’s Appointment

It seems the writing is on the wall for the German interim to become the permanent head coach. A chant from the Southampton faithful — “Tonda, Tonda give us a wave” — has shown that his ability to get results has earned their support. It will need to continue, though, as his inexperience will be heavily scrutinised if results start to go against them.

Whether it’s dominant or not, a win against fourth-place Millwall would most certainly warrant him more time. A permanent role? Likely, but a long-term contract will definitely not be offered. It’s too big a gamble for Sport Republic, reinforced by their failure in Will Still’s appointment just months ago.

What to Expect

Eckert has established efficient pragmatism for the Saints. The last two fixtures have demonstrated differing performances: one targeted Charlton’s weakness with overloads in the final third, and the latest game fixated on transitional and set-piece play against the Foxes.

Yet both yielded the same outcome — a dominant display with minimal chances conceded. 

As Alex Neil said, his side will operate in a more “defensive” manner. The Lions will likely aim to soak up the pressure and rely on transitional play. If they can win the ball during the Saints’ build-up, where their in-possession shape shifts into a more vulnerable variation of a 3-2-5, they could cause problems. A one-goal lead, alongside defensive assurance, could be enough to seal Southampton’s first loss in five games.

Tonda Eckert has already mentioned his expectation of a completely different game. Whether he utilises the same in-possession shape is dependent on where he thinks the spaces will open up against Millwall. Against Charlton, the spaces were in-behind, after dragging them out, and the spaces were out wide against Leicester, especially after their red card.

Predicted Scoreline

Since 2012, six games have been played between them, with the away side in this clash coming out on top.

Possession will likely be dominated by Southampton. The Lions will try to control the game without the ball, but the individual quality of Eckert’s men, with Leo Scienza and Tom Fellows, coupled with the goalscoring potential of Adam Armstrong and Finn Azaz, could pose a huge threat to their stability.