Preview: Southampton v Wolves – Marching on against the Saints?

Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers previews the clash.

Preamble

For the past two seasons we’ve witnessed a steep and continuous rise for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The fans have been spoiled beyond their wildest dreams and for the players it’s been the highlight of many of their careers.

What they haven’t had to deal with, though, is many setbacks. Defeats here and there, sure, but nothing where they've had something tangible to lose.

Last Sunday’s FA Cup loss wasn’t just a setback – it was crushing disappointing. The reaction at full-time was one of stunned silence, of disbelief. Those wounds will take a while to heal.

If fans are still struggling to come to terms with what happened, the players and staff will have taken some picking up this week.

However, one thing that Nuno Espirito Santo won’t tolerate is moping around, or any distractions from the immediate task at hand, which is finishing as high as possible in the league to top off what’s been a wonderful campaign.

Wolves have plenty to play for and Nuno’s challenge will be rousing his players for the run-in, starting against a highly-motivated Southampton team in danger of being relegated, i.e. a similar scenario to when Wolves lost at Burnley two weeks ago.

Burnout in a physical manner shouldn’t be an issue – a week in Marbella will help if so – but Nuno's boys must galvanise their minds to avoid letting the league campaign peter out.

Their last away win came at Everton at the start of February and tomorrow would be an opportune moment to get back to winning ways on the road.

With a trip to title-chasers Liverpool on the final day, Wolves know if they're to finish seventh they need to be comfortably in position by the time they head to Anfield.

Finishing in the top 10 would represent a fine achievement for a newly-promoted team. The prospect of finishing seventh and possibly qualifying for the Europa League would be the icing on the cake of a special season – and that's the aim from here.

The opposition

We spoke to two Southampton experts to get the lowdown on tomorrow's opposition.

Team news

Southampton will have forward Danny Ings available again after he was not eligible to face parent club Liverpool last weekend, when Shane Long led the attack with Charlie Austin on the bench.

Midfielder Mario Lemina (abdominal) and forward Michael Obafemi (thigh) both remain sidelined.

Unless anyone has picked up a knock this week, Nuno Espirito Santo will have a full squad to choose from.

Ruben Vinagre, Ryan Bennett, Ivan Cavaleiro and Adama Traore are the most likely options should be choose to freshen up his XI.

Likely line ups

Southampton: (5-4-1): Gunn; Valery, Yoshida, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Hojberg, Redmond; Ings.

Wolves (3-5-2): Patricio; Saiss, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Moutinho, Neves, Dendoncker, Otto; Jimenez, Jota. Subs: Ruddy, Bennett, Vinagre, Gibbs-White, Traore, Cavaleiro, Costa.

Key players

Southampton – Nathan Redmond

Pacy forward and ex-Blues youngster who came to prominence at Norwich and was snapped up by Southampton for £10million in 2016. Endured a difficult start to this season, failing to score in his first 20 games, but a change of manager has led to a change in fortunes with six in his last 17.

Wolves – Ruben Neves

Had an off-day at Wembley and, invariably, when Neves isn't at his best neither are Wolves. Still so young but will be striving to find that consistency.

The bosses

Ralph Hassenhutl: "It's a very strong opponent, one of the best organised teams in the league. They have made a fantastic job this year, beating a lot of big teams also. They play in a similar shape to what we do and it will be a very interesting game, tactically for us, so not an easy game. They showed that they have a clear plan, also good players, they can fill the plan with life. The whole way they want to play is a very successful one at the moment. It is not a coincidence that they are so high in the table."

Nuno Espirito Santo: "We are going to go again. Every challenge we have, it’s for us to work on it. We have to stick together. We must prepare well for the next game and keep growing. It's like we always do. It's the same process. We're a group of people that wants to play, to compete. The result doesn't change the approach. We want to compete, grow and become better."

The players

Rui Patricio: "We have to react in the upcoming game against Southampton. We have to bounce back. We want to finish in seventh place, so we shall compete for that. This (Southampton) team will be different to the team that we played in the first round of games. We’ll also be away. It’ll be different to when we played them here. It’ll be a good match and we’ll be competing and doing our best to get the win. We have to give our maximum because there are only six games left, six games for us to give our all."

Form

Southampton LWWLW

Apr 5: Southampton 1 (Long 9) Liverpool 3 (Keita 36, Salah 80, Henderson 86)

Mar 30: Brighton 0 Southampton 1 (Hojbjerg 53)

Mar 9: Southampton 2 (Valery 76, Ward-Prowse 81) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Kane 26)

Mar 2: Manchester United 3 (Pereira 53, Lukaku 59, 88) Southampton 2 (Valery 26, Ward-Prowse 75)

Feb 27: Southampton 2 (Romeu 23, Ward-Prowse 41) Fulham 0

Wolves LWLWD

Apr 7: Watford 3 (Deulofeu 79, 104, Deeney pen 90+4) Wolves 2 (Doherty 36, Jimenez, 62) (aet) *FA Cup

Apr 2: Wolves 2 (Jota 25, Smalling OG 77) Manchester United 1 (McTominay 13)

Mar 30: Burnley 2 (Coady OG 2, McNeil 77) Wolves 0

Mar 16: Wolves 2 (Jimenez 70, Jota 77) Manchester United 1 (Rashford 90+5) *FA Cup

Mar 10: Chelsea 1 (Hazard 90+1) Wolves 1 (Jimenez 56)

Past five meetings

Sep 29, 2018 (PL): Wolves 2 (Cavaleiro 79, Otto 87) Southampton 0

Aug 23, 2017 (EFL Cup): Southampton 0 Wolves 2 (Batth 67, Wilson 87)

Apr 10, 2009 (Ch): Wolves 3 (Vokes 1, Craddock 6, Jones pen 19) Southampton 0

Nov 15, 2008 (Ch): Southampton 1 (Pearce 21) Wolves 2 (Iwelumo 8, Jones 17)

Mar 4, 2008 (Ch): Wolves 2 (Ebanks-Blake (61, 88) Southampton 2 (Vignal pen 75, Euell 90)

Match facts

• Wolves have played seven times at St Mary's (three defeats, two draws, two wins) and won their last two visits – a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory last season and a 2-1 win on their way to promotion in 2008/09

• Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota have scored eight of Wolves' past nine goals between them

• Wolves haven't won away from home in the league since beating Everton on February 2, drawing with Bournemouth and Chelsea and losing to Huddersfield and Burnley since then

Referee

Jonathan Moss (West Yorkshire)

Moss takes charge of his second Wolves game this season, the other being the 2-1 victory over Chelsea back in December.

In total he's shown seven red cards and 109 yellows in 32 matches.

Match odds

Southampton 6/4, draw 9/4, Wolves 2/1