Southampton’s key fixtures in the race against the drop

It’s been a season of ups and downs for Southampton.

The Saints have won six games in cup competitions this term, although that’s as many as they’ve managed through their opening 26 league matches. The board finally gave in to the fans’ demands and got rid of Ralph Hasenhuttl but replaced him with Nathan Jones who didn’t even have time to get his hands on the club’s table tennis table before he was sacked.

One rather large negative is the team’s current status as the Premier League’s bottom side. However, Southampton are just two points adrift of safety with 12 games of the campaign left to play.

Here’s what lies ahead for Southampton as they try to end the season on the up by not going down.

No team has needed to break the mythical 40-point tally to stay in the Premier League since West Ham were relegated with a total of 42 in 2003.

Across the last ten seasons, teams have needed an average of 35 points to remain in England’s top flight – although, Burnley did drop into the Championship after collecting that many last season.

After 26 games of the current campaign, Southampton have accrued 22 points – a surprisingly high total for a team at the foot of the table this late into the year. In order to rack up 35 points, the Saints would have to average slightly more than one draw per game (1.1 points) from their remaining dozen outings.

After clocking in at 0.85 points per game through the first seven months of the season, Southampton would need an uptick in results but not an earth-shattering improvement.

West Ham v Southampton (2nd April, 14:00)

Southampton return from the March international break with a crucial clash away to one of the few teams that have dropped points during their trip to St. Mary’s.

The Saints are the only Premier League team that have fared better on the road than their home ground this season and will be targeting more points against 17th-placed West Ham after holding the east Londoners to a 1-1 draw on the south coast in October.

Southampton v Crystal Palace (15th April, 15:00)

Crystal Palace and Southampton bookend the relegation scrap at either end of the Premier League’s bottom nine which are separated by just five points.

James Ward-Prowse and Wilfried Zaha will be able to renew rivalries in a high-stakes affair which is likely to see more than just those two old enemies scrap it out.

Southampton v Bournemouth (25th April, 19:45)

Certain fans (Portsmouth fans) are quick to stress this fixture is not the south coast derby. However,…