Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 418: Matchday Preview: Bring on Blackburn!!
109 Plays11 days ago
Southampton – The Saturday into Tuesday journey that we have until the end of the season now cotinues. Blackburn still have plenty to fight for at the other end of the league, so complacency is not an option here!
Follow us on social media:
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/dailysouthamptonpod
X - https://x.com/DailySaintsPod
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@dailysaintspod
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@DailySaintsPod
Instagram – https://www.instagtam.com/dailysaintspod
Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/gspnsouthampton.bsky.social
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572875812052
Our Sponsors
For advertising and sponsorship details or to learn more about the scale and demographics of our audience – email us - dailysaintspod@gmail.com
Copyright | 2026 | Daily Saints Pod | All Rights Reserved
Recommended
Transcript
Hectic Season Finale
00:00:13
DailySaintsPod
Hello and welcome back to the Daily Saints pod. My name is Greg and as always today, join me on a good friend, a wonderful co-host, Zach. How are you doing, Yeah, look, they they come thick, they come fast.
00:00:23
Zak
Yeah, not too bad. It's so crazy that we're you know just straight back into another game, isn't it? This to the end of the season now, right?
00:00:34
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, that's it. We don't get a breather. We don't get time to handle it. We just... Wait, it's coming at the proper amount of pace. I don't know what you mean. Just... we go to St. Mary's, we win, we come home, and then three days later, and we go to St.
00:00:47
DailySaintsPod
Mary's again. that's just It's just the pattern now. This is our lives. Because, look, I know when it ends at the end of the season, regardless what happens, I'm going to be sad that it's over.
00:00:57
DailySaintsPod
So, who's got to make the most of it?
00:00:58
Zak
Yeah, man. It's it's been such a Especially the end of end or end of this season. It's been so like enjoyable. It's been such a great time. It's like, regardless, there's a lot of uncertainty going into whatever's going to happen next season, right?
00:01:11
Zak
And obviously, we'll have, you know, within a month or two, you have kind of confirmation of how that's going to start to look. But, yeah, it's gonna it's been a bit of a... a really nice end to the campaign after last year where all we wanted it to do was end.
00:01:28
Zak
Just every, every, every game was just, quite especially after we confirmed relegated like the earliest, right?
00:01:28
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Yeah. yeah
00:01:35
Zak
It was just like, please, somebody end this, end this season. Yeah. So very, very interesting.
00:01:40
DailySaintsPod
It's nice.
Blackburn Match Preview
00:01:42
DailySaintsPod
17 unbeaten now, heading into another Tuesday night game, and we've got to be feeling confident, right? Like...
00:01:49
Zak
Yeah.
00:01:51
Zak
Definitely.
00:01:51
DailySaintsPod
It's a...
00:01:52
Zak
It depends. I think it's quite confident, but we got a we've got to see how it will be with potentially Finnazzas being out, right?
00:02:02
Zak
That'll be an interesting...
00:02:03
DailySaintsPod
Hmm...
00:02:06
Zak
We'll actually have a discussion point for team news today.
00:02:08
DailySaintsPod
Yes, mate, indeed. But look, you're right. We can't get complacent. We can't come into it expecting to steamroll them. Blackburn, we did lose to them last time.
00:02:15
Zak
We lost him last time, mate.
00:02:18
DailySaintsPod
And, you know, they're only four points above the relegation zone as it stands. You know, they're still potentially at risk of being dragged down into it. So it's it's not like they're on the beach and playing for nothing. Obviously, it's come out this morning on day of recording that potentially West Brom might be facing a points deduction, which would kind of throw chaos into the mix a little bit in regards that relegation. But but until that's like deal done, dot signed, Blackburn are going to want this and want to take something from this. They're not going to be making it easy for us.
00:02:55
Zak
Yeah, like and even and even with that, the the baffling thing is that the the teams that will remain in the the drop zone will be Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester.
00:02:55
DailySaintsPod
They're still fighting him.
00:03:05
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:03:06
Zak
But we don't know how big that's going to be.
00:03:06
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:03:07
Zak
We don know if that's properly coming yet. It's starting to be reported. I'm seeing it knocking around more and more and more. So it seems more believable than what you initially see it from some sort of like random...
00:03:15
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:03:18
Zak
verified quote unquote source on Twitter, right? Like it seems to far be far more important and far more, yeah.
00:03:23
DailySaintsPod
yeah look with these things there tends to not be smoke without fire to be fair but but look whether it gets resolved in time for the end of the season or who knows but but you can't as a player that's not the sort of thing you're thinking about coming into a game right like they're still gonna want to keep their safety in their own hands so you know if they get one more win they're
00:03:30
Zak
Yeah.
00:03:50
DailySaintsPod
probably clear enough of the zone to to be just about safe. So they'll you know there'll still be fighting. It's not like they they've got nothing left to play for.
00:04:01
DailySaintsPod
They're going to come and they're going to give it a game.
00:04:01
Zak
Yeah.
00:04:03
DailySaintsPod
And because of that, we can't be complacent. right They got a draw at the weekend against Stoke, which I don't know if you saw or not, mate, but Bazzini's back in goal for Stoke now.
Player Movements and Contributions
00:04:16
DailySaintsPod
So, interesting.
00:04:18
Zak
Really? Did not... i just No, is the answer to that question, mate. I did not realise that he played at the weekend. That's crazy.
00:04:25
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, he's he's been back for three games. I think one draw, one win, one loss for Stoke. So, interesting.
00:04:31
Zak
That's... Yeah.
00:04:33
DailySaintsPod
Pace Hedon that maybe we should do another little Lone Watch episode and see how it
00:04:38
Zak
good Yeah, good grief. I did not realise that he was back at all. That's that's awful from us.
00:04:44
Zak
But I do know that Nathan Redmond is now at Blackburn.
00:04:48
Zak
That's wild.
00:04:48
DailySaintsPod
yeah Yeah, he came on in the 90th minute at the weekend.
00:04:49
Zak
because Because he...
00:04:52
DailySaintsPod
i think he's been... think he's just like getting minutes in at the moment.
00:04:57
Zak
Yeah, because he, again, he had that really short spell at Sheffield Wednesday. so it's very, don't know, it's a very, he seems to be a bit of a journeyman at the moment, just sort of cropping up and appearing at different clubs, you know?
00:05:07
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:05:10
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, it's it's a slightly strange one, but look, he's an experienced head, and in I guess, you know knowing that they were down and amongst it in this relegation battle, it's experience of handling those situations and, you know, a bit of quality, even at...
00:05:27
DailySaintsPod
you know even at the ripe old age of 32, to come in and maybe make a difference. So is it is interesting. It'll be interesting to see if he gets on the pitch, and it'd be interesting to see what kind of a rec reception he'll get. I don't think it would be negative by any stretch of the imagination. So, yeah, sir it's a bit of a strange game, isn't it? it's it's Of the recent fixtures...
00:05:54
DailySaintsPod
it's it's the easiest to have a concern about looking past a bit, which is which is where you know it gets a bit dangerous, right?
00:06:02
Zak
Yes.
Avoiding Complacency Against Blackburn
00:06:06
DailySaintsPod
We we' talked about you know the amount of games we've got and some lethargy in the squad and perhaps some, not not complacency, but you know we saw after the Fulham game, we struggled against West Brom.
00:06:20
DailySaintsPod
And, you know, that's not something we can afford to do at this point, right? Every game is literally cup final. We talked about the potential of second place and whether it's like realistically viable or not.
00:06:32
DailySaintsPod
And the real answer is that... it might be viable, but we need to do our part first, right? If we win every single game, it's still out of our hands. And so the universe will do what will do, but it's, there's no point even thinking about talking about it unless we do the bit that we can do.
00:06:50
DailySaintsPod
And it's important not to take a team like Blackburn or take a victory against the team like Blackburn for granted, because that's potentially when you let your guard down and let it slip.
00:07:01
DailySaintsPod
But,
00:07:02
Zak
Yeah, which is doesn't know i feel like we kind of felt the same about Derby at the weekend and there was a moment where we almost did. Obviously, we we ourselves had the belief that we could come back and it would be fine and obviously that is what we did in the end.
00:07:11
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:07:17
Zak
But that doesn't stop it from being bit of a a bump in the road, right, that first half and they they know they need to keep the levels up and hopefully we can go into this game with those levels raised off of the back of a good comeback win.
00:07:30
Zak
But... You know, Blackburn, as you pointed out, are not going to be not going to be easy pickings considering their position. They rightly beat us last time 2-1.
00:07:38
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:07:40
Zak
That was the game where Wellington got red-carded and banned for a while. And it was also the notorious game where Leo Siena was brought off for Stevens in the 68th minute, where we tried to see out a 1-0 lead like 25 minutes too early.
00:07:45
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:07:55
Zak
And then obviously...
00:07:56
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:07:57
Zak
literally brought on Stevens. equal they they They equalized not long after. and then we brought on Robinson and Wellington and Bragg in the 81st minute. And obviously everything was just a bit disjointed and they scored again.
00:08:11
Zak
And that was one of the, think, towards the turning point, right, of Will Stills.
00:08:11
DailySaintsPod
Mm-hmm.
00:08:16
Zak
regime
Team Selection and Strategy
00:08:17
Zak
and running our football clubs. But like, yeah, that they they have reason and desire to want to try and do well. And you can't write that off, even if they've only been sort of picking up losses and draws recently. It doesn't mean that we should just walk into this game And it will be a bit of a test as when we get to team news, as we've kind of talked about. Like, if it's ours, it's doubt. How are we going to shake things up?
00:08:43
Zak
Obviously, we should do things up shortly, quite easily the other day with with Charles in that position.
00:08:43
DailySaintsPod
I
00:08:48
Zak
But from from the get-go, is we going to do the same? Is it going to be different? Are we going to go and do something kind of crazy? it's Yeah.
00:08:57
DailySaintsPod
don't know. We'll get to to that team selection, mate. But now that we've truly mitigated it to the point where I'm comfortable talking about it, we should still be c coming in confident of a win, right?
00:09:09
Zak
Yeah, i still i still I still think that we we should, you know, if we if we are pushing for what we are pushing for, we should come into this game and do do our best win it.
00:09:09
DailySaintsPod
Like,
00:09:21
Zak
And I think that they are going into every game at the moment wanting to win it, and that is important. But... It was still... don't know. I don't want to have like doubts.
00:09:32
Zak
And I don't want to allow the doubt that's set in at the weekend to like fester in me. So I think you're right. We should just go out and beat them. But it's also, again, it's the staying humble aspect of it, of not wanting to be arrogant and pointing at the table and going, we should beat them because of this reason.
00:09:39
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:09:45
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:09:49
DailySaintsPod
No, exactly.
00:09:49
Zak
Because you're right, we should. But at the same time...
00:09:51
DailySaintsPod
We don't want to take it for granted. we need We know that complacency can't slip in, but even with that in mind, with the form we are in and the quality we have, with with all of the things we have in place, we should be going out to beat this team.
00:10:05
DailySaintsPod
And now they're going to come at us.
00:10:05
Zak
it's It's very different to last game as well.
00:10:07
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:08
Zak
like Do you want to know what our table positions were when we last played them, Greg?
00:10:08
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:12
DailySaintsPod
Go on.
00:10:13
Zak
We were in 20th with 12 points and Blackburn were 21st with 10.
00:10:19
DailySaintsPod
That's crazy.
00:10:19
Zak
Admittedly, during this time, Sheffield United and Norwich were both in the drop zone and West Brom and Leicester were nowhere near it. So that shows you how much stuff changes over a season, but still...
00:10:27
DailySaintsPod
That's it, mate.
00:10:30
DailySaintsPod
But that's the thing about the championship, right? we say We say it every week, but any team on any week can beat anyone, right?
00:10:36
Zak
And then
00:10:48
DailySaintsPod
we've got to be prepared. They're going to come and it's probably going to be another team that are going to play in a low block. It's going be another team that are going to come and try and disrupt us and, you know, waste time and do all the dark arts and just come and take a point because actually, you know, in the context of the season, a point from us for them, would be an excellent point.
00:11:09
DailySaintsPod
And so we, we have to be prepared for that and not take it lightly. but we still need to go at them and go and do it. And, uh, and I think we will, to be honest, but, let's, let's move on then to the, to the team news that you were talking about. late let, let's start back to front as we, we traditionally do. we don't need to talk about Perretz. He will be in goal, uh, hopefully forever. a Long may it continue. we'll say it every week until we put it into the universe enough for it to come into existence.
00:11:40
DailySaintsPod
Bree is a place that we don't have a replacement for. Is he just playing all of the minutes now?
00:11:47
Zak
like I guess so. It kind of feels like that's the case, right? the Who is Jalek going to come in for him? Probably not. I don't even think he's been on the bench recently.
00:12:00
Zak
I don't know if he's got injury or what, but I don't see...
00:12:02
DailySaintsPod
I don't know.
00:12:04
Zak
I don't see him not playing unless there is an injury to him. And at the moment, Bria's managed to survive most things.
00:12:09
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:12:12
Zak
So even in that had clash of heads, he played on the games after without much of an issue.
00:12:12
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. He's going to be... Yeah. He's going to be the name that's on the team sheet, and presumably if we get to a position where we're comfortable enough to be rotating, he will come off of the pitch for someone who doesn't really play his position because it no longer matters.
00:12:31
DailySaintsPod
Right?
00:12:31
Zak
Yes.
00:12:32
DailySaintsPod
That that that will be the way that we try and get minutes back from him rather than expecting every minute of the game. But... But he's still got a start because he's such a crucial part to the way we play and especially the way that we unblock and unlock these low defences because the you know the rotation on the flank between him and whoever's in front of him and whoever's in front of them
00:12:48
Zak
And then
00:12:57
DailySaintsPod
is is important. We saw that with him and Fellows and Yander, and the same after in the second half with with him and Yander and Matski linking up and making those darting runs. And I think even Flynn Downs, right, getting himself in a position like on the wing. but At one point, Harwood Bellis was out on the wing trying to unlock that Derby team. So, you know...
00:13:22
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, it's it's it's an important part that he plays in the team. So it'll be important to keep him fit. That's going to be a big challenge coming into this run of games.
00:13:32
Zak
yeah whoa
00:13:35
DailySaintsPod
Centre-backs, though, feel like Stephens and Harwood-Bellis, unless Stephens is not quite, you know, if Stephens needs to rotate him.
00:13:43
Zak
yeah harwood bellis and then stevens or probably most likely at this point would right what keeps being brought on as the the late substitute or the switching around uh depends a can't remember if he is in what you would you you described as your tuesday team but
00:13:48
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:13:53
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:13:59
DailySaintsPod
I think, yeah, look I think the the positions that rotate, let's be honest, you know, we joke about Saturday, Tuesday, but Stevens is is one of the players who has had fitness concerns, so is more likely to rotate than not.
00:14:14
DailySaintsPod
So, yeah, I would potentially expect Wood to either start or come on for more minutes than he did on Saturday.
00:14:23
Zak
Especially yeah especially if he if if Stevens is on Tuesday, stay Tuesday, Saturday.
00:14:27
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:14:28
Zak
don't know if necessarily he'll go straight in this Tuesday. It'll probably be wood, I think is where I'm at, if it is.
00:14:35
DailySaintsPod
And I'm fine with that. I think he'll do a perfectly good job.
00:14:36
Zak
Yeah.
00:14:37
DailySaintsPod
Like i said, I actually think he was unlucky to to get dropped for Stevens to come back, but he's the club captain and Stevens is another one of these players that's really stepped up and become such an important part of this run, so it's not really a surprise.
00:14:43
Zak
Mm-hmm.
00:14:55
DailySaintsPod
And then Manning on the left, presumably.
00:14:58
Zak
Yeah.
00:14:58
DailySaintsPod
Not just for his Deadpool deliveries, but because he's he's been good.
00:15:02
Zak
I think i think if it's if he's fit, he he plays now and it's you know no disrespect to Wellington.
00:15:06
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:15:07
Zak
And obviously, it's nice. Wellington has that sort of Brazilian element to link up with Sienza. They're quite good pals by looks of it. So I think it's nice that either option works with the players we'd be putting in front of them.
00:15:20
Zak
But Manning's just doing that little bit more, right, at the moment.
00:15:23
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. 100% agreed. Wouldn't be surprised to see Wellington get some starts in this run of games.
00:15:30
Zak
Yeah, i met maybe today though, like maybe because obviously this would be the one, if if you'd expect him to start, probably would be maybe this one.
00:15:31
DailySaintsPod
But...
00:15:39
Zak
But I just don't see Tomla wanting to change up the consistency of the team too much at the moment.
00:15:46
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:15:47
Zak
But
00:15:47
DailySaintsPod
nice If I ain't broke, don't fix it. But... but you got, you know, we know that Tonda pays attention to the medical teams. So he'll listen to to that and we'll see. then the, you know, one of these interesting parts is the midfield, right? So we talked about Saturday, Tuesday teams, uh, positions that you rotate positions. You don't flip down to me. We'll play every game he's available for because he has been phenomenal.
00:16:13
DailySaintsPod
The last few guys, uh,
00:16:16
Zak
It's a question.
00:16:16
DailySaintsPod
Back to his absolute best. Seems to have got the the monkey off his back with these health issues. Seems to have got himself back to to the player we know he can be.
00:16:28
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, one of the first days on the team sheet because of what he brings, yeah?
00:16:32
Zak
Yeah, agreed.
00:16:34
DailySaintsPod
So who alongside him? So you're right, the Azaz injury is what causes the interesting part here because... I would have thought Charles would be the Tuesday player in this position that we've seen Yander be the Saturday player for.
00:16:47
Zak
I don't know, right? Like, and in in a an opinion at the age like Milk, right, where I was starting to think that maybe I was watching a different player on Saturday...
00:16:59
Zak
Where I said, admittedly, I did say it was a bit of a game of two halves. And i'd like, you know, as we both pointed out, Yander was phenomenal the second half. But I'm starting to think that maybe that first half I was watching some different game. Either way, i think that because of his performance, I think it's going to be very, very hard for Eckert to dislodge him.
00:17:18
Zak
And because of that, I'm also thinking that if Azaz is unfit, the likelihood is he'll put Charles in Azaz's position unless he decides to do the Cam Archer experiment again.
00:17:31
Zak
so that's one of the only reasons that I'm convinced he'll keep Yander.
00:17:31
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, which...
00:17:34
Zak
Because if he had a performance like that on Saturday, why would you drop him?
00:17:36
DailySaintsPod
Hmm. It would... Yeah, it would almost be strange to drop it.
00:17:40
Zak
Especially where he's had he's had a bit more of a break than some of the other players, right?
00:17:44
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. No. oh yeah fully agree. with with all of your points. I don't know. I didn't know if maybe we should even see Cam Bragg come into that position, but I mean, like we say every week, it's a position we're really lucky to be in where actually whatever series of names he he puts there, we're happy.
00:17:54
Zak
Yeah, maybe.
00:18:05
DailySaintsPod
But yeah, you're right.
00:18:06
Zak
Whatever series of names we we would be happy, we would be confused if you put Romelu in.
00:18:12
Zak
Right.
00:18:12
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:18:13
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. I would be surprised at this point
00:18:16
Zak
like
00:18:16
DailySaintsPod
I wouldn't be surprised at this point, but, you know, i I'd be happy for Romelu, right? If that that is the case, fine. But, yeah, I think you're right. In another case, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. he
00:18:29
Zak
Yeah.
00:18:29
DailySaintsPod
He's clearly performing well. Like say, he had a phenomenal game Saturday, especially in the second half. Yeah, keep it keep it going. Yeah, number 10 position, Shea Charles or Cam Archer?
00:18:40
DailySaintsPod
don't know. don't know. Based off of confidence and form, you're right. You'd say Shea Charles because we've seen him in that number 10 role doing absolutely fine and sliding uncomfortably and scoring goals and and, you know, creating memes with with his face.
00:19:00
DailySaintsPod
Like...
00:19:00
Zak
I think the thing is with Azaz is if he has been carrying stuff for a few weeks and has been real professional about it and then finally been clipped enough for it to be a problem,
00:19:01
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:19:11
Zak
it's goingnna you're just going to need to give him just a slight amount of time, in my opinion, unless he is just convinced that he'll be we be back. This might be a complete moot point and he'll be you know one of the first names on the team sheet. But if he is out, then, yeah, for me, Charles just pips it.
00:19:29
Zak
Maybe he comes off later on give Cam Archer a bit of a go. You've got to give plaudits to Archer for willingly... taking any opportunity he gets to be on the football pitch.
00:19:42
Zak
Yeah.
00:19:43
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, look, when when he comes on, he's got good energy, he's got good press, and and specifically recently, he he looks up for it, and it's not through lack of trying or through...
00:19:56
DailySaintsPod
You know, the moments he's come on in the games have not been... yeah You know, there's not been set up for him to make an impact, right?
00:20:05
Zak
m
00:20:05
DailySaintsPod
It's it's like... It's kind of like a win-win in the... He doesn't have to create the impact. He just has to not mess up, which he he hasn't done. And, and you know, he's he's come in, he's looked okay. And honestly, yeah, I'd be i'd be happy with either name, really, is is fine. I think that, look, I've said for the longest time on this show, all of last season...
00:20:34
Zak
I don't
00:20:34
DailySaintsPod
if you play him with a big physical striker, he's probably got some, you know, there's a bit about him.
00:20:40
Zak
then know.
00:20:40
DailySaintsPod
And so if you want to play him in behind,
00:20:41
Zak
i'm i'm pretty sure we I'm pretty sure we had that this season, but it didn't end that well. right It was...
00:20:45
DailySaintsPod
it was I think we got a very short period of it, but I think if you play Cameron Archer in with Kyle Lahren, you've got potential for some sparks of joy there. So so maybe we see it, but I think we probably see Shea Charles stepping in for for at least the main part. We might see Cam Archer later on in the game, but yeah.
00:21:09
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Front three there, mate. This is really where the rotation comes into play. So we've seen Ross Stewart and Karl Lahren kind of taking it in turns. do you think we need stick with that and have Lahren start this game?
00:21:24
Zak
Yes, in my opinion.
00:21:25
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:21:26
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. No, I agree.
00:21:28
Zak
Yeah, not just I just think that, you know, i think Sture had an alright game, but I think he struggled with the physicality of Derby, and I think that you might end up having a similar position with Blackburn, who might try and...
00:21:28
DailySaintsPod
That's it.
00:21:35
DailySaintsPod
yes
00:21:40
Zak
You know, look at what Derby has done and seen that if you just shove four men in front of Ross, it's not his fault that he can plugged struggle with the hold-up play, whereas Lahren has a little bit more pace and physicality to deal with that.
00:21:55
Zak
So, yeah, it's not any disrespect. I think that also could 100% see him coming on in the 60th minute and scoring.
00:22:01
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:22:02
Zak
So...
00:22:02
DailySaintsPod
Look, we've seen some of the better qualities of both players, Larrid and Stuart, in the last week alone, right? with With the games we've played and what we've got.
00:22:13
DailySaintsPod
and they are both going to play an important part coming forward. But i just think as they're both, you know, even if you would say now they're back to full fitness, they're probably not players you're wanting to risk 90 minutes at a time is is where we're at. And so I think that...
00:22:33
DailySaintsPod
Swapping them in and out. One of them will do 60, one of them will 30. And then on Saturday, they'll swap and the other one will do 60, the other one they'll do 30. I fully anticipate that that is what we will see for the rest of the season, barring something going wrong.
00:22:47
DailySaintsPod
Because it just makes sense. And, you know, it it it works. They both scored last Tuesday, right? So,
00:22:54
Zak
Yeah.
00:22:56
DailySaintsPod
it's if they broke, you know, they're both going to come on and be a threat, great.
00:23:00
Zak
If it isn't broke, don't fix it, regardless of Laron or Stuart, Loch Ness Ruggba, the Swarma King, whoever you play.
00:23:06
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:23:09
Zak
We're happy with it.
00:23:09
DailySaintsPod
All it.
00:23:10
Zak
it's It's just a nice position that we're in, mate, that that is still a thing that we can say.
00:23:10
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:23:15
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:23:15
Zak
And it's not a problem, right? It's not like a its Still, when you when you have a look at these old games, like in prep, right? Even as far back as like Derby, you're talking about...
00:23:28
Zak
no, sorry, Derby, sorry, it's the last Blackburn game, you've got like one of the big headlines being the fact that Adam Armstrong failed to score in his fifth attempt and people kicking off about not having strikers that can score and currently that isn't the problem with either of them.
00:23:44
Zak
And it's just really nice. So that's one of the reasons why it doesn't really matter who we play. It's arguably, okay, who can do the best to create more goal scoring opportunities for those around them, right?
00:23:55
Zak
So, yeah, i I'm really glad we're in a nice position like that.
00:23:56
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, absolutely.
Team Progress and Fan Engagement
00:23:59
DailySaintsPod
It's great. As we always say, or has have we just been saying particularly recently, it's a wonderful time to be a Saints fan.
00:24:06
Zak
Yeah, man.
00:24:07
DailySaintsPod
Right, out on the right-hand side, I think I prefer Matski to start over Fellows, be it be it Saturday, Wednesday rotation, or be it earned, because Matski at the moment is just bringing a bit more of a polished touch.
00:24:08
Zak
For sure.
00:24:15
Zak
Yeah.
00:24:23
DailySaintsPod
I don't know, but that's the way I think it's going to go for this game.
00:24:25
Zak
Yeah, again, you're... your curse on fellows just isn't, just isn't the one.
00:24:30
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:24:31
Zak
So because of that, like, you just seemed a bit disheartened after that first half last game. And, you know, I think that for him and Lahren being brought on, I did that little bit more of more, as we said, like physical edge and a couple of times when people were s screaming to have a pop, I reckon Matski probably would have done it.
00:24:49
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:24:49
Zak
And to be honest, he's done it a couple of times this season and they've ended up in the back of the net.
00:24:53
Zak
And and that that might be the thing that currently just edges him out over Fellows or edges Fellows out over him because because of that reason.
00:24:53
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:24:58
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. I think.
00:25:01
Zak
But also, it could just be as simply as rotation because that seems to be the way that things are going.
00:25:04
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:25:07
Zak
I don't like the fact that we've established a Tuesday-Friday, Tuesday-Saturday hierarchy and team, especially after I spent 20 minutes basically rejecting the idea.
00:25:12
DailySaintsPod
I don i don't I don't know.
00:25:16
Zak
But you're not wrong either. so
00:25:18
DailySaintsPod
i don't know if it's going to stick with this Tuesday, Saturday rotation thing, but, but either way, I think Matski gets in on merit, even if not on rotation.
00:25:27
Zak
Yes, agreed.
00:25:29
DailySaintsPod
uh like say slightly different profiles of players in that position where fellows is uh i think a much better dribbler of the ball when taking on the players uh matski just seems to be a little bit more dynamic in that position in the way he links up and just isn't scared to hit the ball uh and and be it by luck or by judgment has found the back of the net multiple times with it so uh
00:25:36
Zak
and
00:25:51
Zak
Yes.
00:25:52
DailySaintsPod
Good. Yeah. it makes sense for me for him to start. And on the left, I mean, it's an interesting debate. I mean, if, if Leo doesn't start, it will be down to rotation, but, but Sammy, I think was very good for, for the first 50 minutes of the Rexham game.
00:26:08
DailySaintsPod
then sort of presumably tired because of, uh, at that point, but, but yeah, uh,
00:26:14
Zak
Yeah,
00:26:16
DailySaintsPod
I think maybe if you're going to rotate, this is probably the game you do it. So we maybe see Sammy start.
00:26:22
Zak
yeah i wouldn't really be surprised. you know I wouldn't be surprised if we see both him and Cienzo at some point, but it seems like the game that he's more likely to start in, if I'm totally honest.
00:26:30
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Yeah. No, I agree. But again, another one of those ones where kind of happy either way. So what time?
00:26:38
Zak
Yeah.
00:26:39
DailySaintsPod
What dream?
00:26:40
Zak
Great position to be in, right?
00:26:42
DailySaintsPod
Ha ha. Right, mate, as you know, a like to delve into the historic stats. So, not a lot of history, historic fixtures to go on in the data set I'm looking at. In fact, as few as three.
00:26:56
DailySaintsPod
Obviously, the two games in the last championship season where we won 4-0 and then were held to a 0-0 draw at Blackburn. And then of course, the loss this season, which let's not ponder on too much. But...
00:27:12
DailySaintsPod
But look, the the analysis on the form and on the historic fixtures comes out as the likely result being a Southampton win. The home edge plus the home XG supports a narrow victory, either or 2-1.
00:27:28
DailySaintsPod
or two one
00:27:33
DailySaintsPod
does say the most probable outcome will probably be under two and a half goals. So that is that is different normal, mate. It's switched it up.
00:27:41
Zak
It still said 2-1.
00:27:43
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:27:43
Zak
Get out of here. It still can't ever predict anything more exciting.
00:27:48
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, but just think that if you look, I think it's because if you look at, if you plotted, let's get boring and statistical, mate, if you plotted every football result of all time on graphs and looked at it as a bell curve, you've got to think that 2-1 either way is right at the peak of that curve.
00:27:48
Zak
would love it to turn around and say 3-0.
00:28:08
DailySaintsPod
Probably just like the the most likely outcome, the the most prevalent result, right? That's probably why should have guessed
00:28:14
Zak
Yeah, for sure for sure. But if you're going to predict it every single game, it's insane. Like, if you look at all of the the games we've had that We won 5-1 in between, which it also said we'd beat them 2-1.
00:28:21
DailySaintsPod
one Hang on a minute. We won 2-1 at the weekend and last weekend. Like... like Yes.
00:28:31
Zak
So...
00:28:31
DailySaintsPod
but But yeah, mate, that's a 66% success rate.
00:28:32
Zak
so
00:28:35
DailySaintsPod
I don't know what you mean. how How are you feeling? What do you think is going to happen?
00:28:40
Zak
Well, there we go. The AI prediction, mate. There we go. 2-1 again. Nah, I reckon 2-0. I reckon we'll keep them out this time around. They'll be lying before the lessons from the weekend. Go out, hit them hard, them twice.
00:28:52
Zak
Get them done.
00:28:53
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, where goals coming from?
00:28:57
Zak
If Sammy's starting, let's go Sammy Odozie.
00:29:00
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:29:00
Zak
And be let's be really bold and say at some point Archer comes on and Archer gets a goal because that would be really good for the atmosphere in St Mary's.
00:29:06
DailySaintsPod
That'd be nice.
00:29:07
Zak
That would be really good for him. It'd be really good for the team. It'd be really nice to see him doing this sort of run-up at the end to Northern, right?
00:29:10
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:29:14
Zak
Probably be fantastic for his morale.
00:29:14
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:29:15
Zak
So, yeah, why not?
00:29:16
DailySaintsPod
Absolutely.
00:29:16
Zak
Yep.
00:29:17
DailySaintsPod
I like that. Nice. Yeah, nice clean sheet. Comfortable in. where When are the goals coming? Are they going to be both late or one early, one late?
00:29:26
Zak
One early, one late. There you go
00:29:28
DailySaintsPod
right.
00:29:28
Zak
Because obviously, you dozy if the Dozie start in and then Archers come in in the second half, then it'll be one early, one late.
00:29:29
DailySaintsPod
Split the difference.
00:29:34
DailySaintsPod
All right. Fair. I'll take it. I'd be happy with that. What do I think? don't know. this is This is the eternal internal fight, mate, between trying to stay grounded and and humble and aware that it's a potential banana skin, but also confident and enjoying the highs of St.
00:29:59
Zak
like so and also also just listening to your kid tell you 5-0 every single week.
00:29:59
DailySaintsPod
Mary's from the last week.
00:30:04
DailySaintsPod
Every week, yeah. Mate, I mean, look, the it gets the optimism from from somewhere. Let's be honest.
00:30:12
Zak
I wonder where. Okay.
00:30:15
DailySaintsPod
What do I think? I think... Let's go three niil I think clean sheet.
00:30:21
Zak
okay
00:30:22
DailySaintsPod
I don't think that they'll get a goal. I think that Peretz is going to want a clean sheet and fight for it with his life.
00:30:28
Zak
Yes.
00:30:30
DailySaintsPod
And yeah, I just think we're going to be good enough. I think we'll get a goal probably late in the first half. And then we'll get one midway through the second half and another one nearing the end. Just to solidify it.
00:30:48
DailySaintsPod
like your shout of a Sammy Adozi goal. So let's go one for Adozi and two for Laren because I would really like to win the prize money for the Southampton player score in a brace competition from midnight.
00:30:58
Zak
Interesting.
00:31:06
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:31:08
Zak
Sure, why don't we?
00:31:09
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:31:09
Zak
Yep. I'll back i' back you for that because, you know.
00:31:12
DailySaintsPod
But that's as good of a reason as any. Right? It'd just be nice. Look, Carl Laringo in front of the Northern. The place is going bounce.
00:31:22
DailySaintsPod
So that's what we want to see.
00:31:23
Zak
Yeah.
00:31:25
Zak
Yep.
00:31:27
DailySaintsPod
Mate, I'm excited. can't wait to get back down to St Mary's and and just go through it again. Bring the joy. Bring the excitement. Bring the energy. It's going to be a a good night.
00:31:39
DailySaintsPod
It's exciting. What a great time to be Saints fan.
00:31:41
DailySaintsPod
It's unbelievable.
00:31:41
Zak
Yeah, man.
00:31:42
Zak
It's been this good.
00:31:44
DailySaintsPod
But look, that is all that we've got time for today. So thank you so much, everyone, for joining us. And thank you, as always, Zach, for joining me.
00:31:52
Zak
you, teammate.
00:31:52
DailySaintsPod
Let us know your score predictions, how you think it's going to go in the comments on the socials. Daily Saints pod is who we are absolutely everywhere. X, Blue Sky, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
00:32:05
DailySaintsPod
Everywhere, hit us up. Let us know how confident you are feeling. Because even in these good times, it is the most Saints fan thing to still feel like the other foot's coming at some point, right? So let us know. We love hearing from you.
00:32:20
DailySaintsPod
We will be back tomorrow to talk about it, however it plays out, because that is what we love to do. But until then, everyone...
00:32:30
DailySaintsPod
Enjoy the game. Have a wonderful day. And most importantly, come on, you saints.
00:32:36
Zak
Wait.