Both nurturing ambitions of plying their trade in the top flight next season, Southampton will do battle with top-six hopefuls Hull City at St Mary's Stadium on Tuesday night in the Championship.
The Saints produced a statement performance and victory at West Bromwich Albion on Friday, while the Tigers squeezed past Huddersfield Town to stay on the coattails of the playoffs.
Match preview
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After their 25-match unbeaten run came to an abrupt end at Bristol City three days earlier, Southampton travelled to The Hawthorns on Friday night looking to flex their powers of recovery, and in the end it was a comfortable evening against a West Brom side who look set for a top-six finish.
Unlike the vast majority of visitors to the Baggies' Black Country home, Russell Martin's Saints dominated the ball and, crucially, breached the net of Alex Palmer, with goals either side of the half-time whistle from Ryan Fraser and substitute David Brooks securing a massive win on the road.
With Leeds United doing the business at Plymouth Argyle's Home Park a day later, Southampton remain in third place after the weekend's round of second-tier action, but Martin's men have played a game fewer, with Tuesday night presenting the South Coast club to join league leaders Leicester City in the automatic-promotion spots.
Always a threat at this level, former Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers marksman Adam Armstrong is leading the club's Golden Boot race with 16 goals in 32 Championship appearances - no player in the division can match the nippy forward's 27 goal contributions so far in 2023-24.
Southampton have 11-straight matches at their St Mary's base across the Championship and the FA Cup since the start of October, with League One-bound Rotherham United the last side to deny the Saints a victory on the South Coast, with Jordan Hugill's second-half equaliser cancelling out Armstrong's second-minute strike.
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Hull are within striking distance of the top six after a Jacob Greaves brace fired them to a 2-1 success over Andre Breitenreiter's Huddersfield at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with the defender's second strike sealing maximum points in the 94th minute.
Six points from an available six against Leam Richardson's Rotherham and the Terriers over the past week was an expectation for a Tigers side packed with quality following their eye-catching January window, in which Fabio Carvalho and Anass Zaroury arrived from Liverpool and Burnley respectively.
Throw former Aston Villa man Jaden Philogene into the mix and Hull are a different beast from the one Liam Rosenior inherited when he took charge of the Humberside club, with the immediate ambition a return to the Premier League via the playoffs after seven years in the Football League.
The Tigers are level on points with sixth-placed Coventry City and David Wagner's Norwich City in seventh after four wins from their last five in the Championship, and maximum points at St Mary's on Tuesday could be enough to fire Hull into fifth, dependent on how West Brom fare at Plymouth Argyle on the same night.
Five of Hull's next six second-tier fixtures are against side currently occupying positions in the top nine of the division, meaning the build up to the Easter weekend at the end of March could prove pivotal in deciding whether a highly-talented XI can actualise the dreams of a loyal fanbase.
Team News
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Southampton were without the services of West Ham United loanee Flynn Downes at The Hawthorns, and it has been revealed that the midfielder is set to be out until March due to a muscle injury.
The absence of the 25-year-old will likely present Shea Charles more opportunities to start matches alongside Stuart Armstrong and William Smallbone in the Saints' engine room.
James Bree remains out of action due to a hamstring strain picked up in December, but the 26-year-old has played second fiddle to Liam Manning at left-back even when fully fit.
Hull will continue to rely on the striking talents of Billy Sharp and January addition Noah Ohio due to Liam Delap's continued absence because of a knee injury.
Tyler Morton is a doubt for Tuesday night's trip to the South Coast after being forced off with an ankle knock after just 32 minutes at Huddersfield on the weekend.
In the case that the Blackburn loanee is unavailable, Regan Slater could slot into the midfield alongside Ozan Tufan, with Matty Jacob coming in at right-back.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Charles, Smallbone, S Armstrong; A Armstrong, Fraser, Mara
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Allsopp; Jacob, Jones, Greaves, Giles; Tufan, Slater; Philogene, Carvalho, Zaroury; Ohio
We say: Southampton 3-1 Hull City
Southampton were controlled in their success over West Brom last time out, and we are expecting more of the same from the Saints at St Mary's in this one.
Hull made hard work of trips to Rotherham and Huddersfield in the past week, and we cannot envisage the Tigers recording three-straight away maximums.
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Carter White
