Next Thursday, 1st of January 2015, the surprising Southampton will entertain the inconsistent Arsenal at St. Mary’s Stadium for round 20 of the English Premier League, on a match of paramount importance for both teams, who currently share the fourth place of the table with 33 points from 19 matches.

After two solid wins against Everton and Crystal Palace over the two previous rounds, Southampton managed to make a stand against the league leaders, Chelsea, last Sunday. The all-powerful José Mourinho’s boys weren’t able to overcome the well organized Saints’ team on a very even match that ended up in a 1-1 draw. Southampton opened the score early in the match when, assisted by Dusan Tadic, the versatile Senegalese forward Sadio Mané passed the ball over a hopeless Courtois. Ronald Koeman’s boys managed to withstand Chelsea’s attacking game until the last moments of the first-half, when the Belgian wonderboy Eden Hazard dribbled everyone on his way and leveled the score with a superb solo effort.

Southampton ended the match with just ten players, after the French defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin was sent off late in the game after tripping Cesc Fàbregas in an attempt to stop the counter-attack.

The upcoming clash against Arsenal will certainly be another very interesting test for a team that is arguably one of the best of the current edition of the English Premier League. The Saints’ want to extend their good streak but they will need to dig deep to overcome an Arsenal that, despite the blatant inconsistency, can easily go from rags to riches during one single match. For the particular clash, Ronald Koeman will not be able to rely on the contribution of Morgan Schneiderlin, who is currently suspended after collecting a red card on the last Sunday’s match against Chelsea.

As for Arsenal, the Gunners have won two consecutive London derbies, first against QPR and then against West Ham, in just three days, thus returning to wins after their 2-2 dramatic draw at Anfield Road. Last Sunday, Arsenal were always the best team against the Hammers and have deservedly won the match by 2-1. The Gunners’ dominance was not only materialized in more goals due to the spectacular performance of Adrian, the Hammers’ Spanish goalkeeper that frustrated a great deal of Arsenal’s intents.

It is very difficult to name any favourites for the upcoming clash between the Saints and Arsenal since both teams are currently going through a very positive moment. This being said, the most likely outcome is a draw.

Southampton

Stats: W-2 L-2 D-1

Recent Form - DWWLL

Arsenal

Stats: W-4 L-0 D-1

Recent Form - WWDWW

Possible Line-ups

Southampton (4-3-3) - Forster - Clyne - Fonte - Aldewereld - Bertrand - Wanyama - Davis - Ward-Prowse - Tadic - Mane - Pelle

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) – Szczesny - Koscielny - Mertesacker - Debuchy - Gibbs - Flamini - Cazorla Oxlade Chamberlain - Sánchez - Welbeck - Giroud

Prediction

Southampton 1 Arsenal 1