Southampton target vital win at Wrexham to hit break on a high | OneFootball

Southampton have begun the Championship well, but likely need one more result this weekend to underline it. Victory at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground on Saturday should lift them into the top eight before a three-week international break.

Daily Echo notes that on points from seven games, Saints should already be in the automatic promotion places, only behind West Ham on goal difference. Four teams are 4-2-1, and Wolves, a game behind, can match that.

Excluding the draw with newly promoted Lincoln, they have outperformed the same fixtures last season. Mostly under Will Still, they took five points from six then, compared with 13 this term. A four-point Spygate deduction keeps them ninth, outside the play-offs.

Tonda Eckert's side are targeting a lift against Phil Parkinson's North Wales strugglers. Saints won 5-1 in April, leapfrogging into the play-offs and denting Wrexham's storybook first Championship season since 1981-82. A slick, watered pitch and a risky high line suited them, even making Cyle Larin look quick.

Parkinson is under pressure after a £30million summer and just one win in seven. Aside from a televised Friday-night 6-0 at West Ham, Wrexham have been competitive, their only other defeat by one to Birmingham, with four draws in seven.

Only QPR and Wolves have conceded fewer expected goals against, so Wrexham restrict chances. The break suspends domestic play for two full weekends, which could be significant for Saints as Eckert awaits an FA misconduct verdict and prepares for Portsmouth at St Mary's on Sunday, 11 October.

Source: Daily Echo

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