The pressure appears to be mounting on bottom of the table Southampton and their manager Nathan Jones ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with an upwardly-mobile Wolves at St Mary's Stadium.
Saints are deep in the relegation mire following a run of eight defeats across their last nine top-flight games, a sequence that began before Jones was appointed as Ralph Hasenhuttl's successor in the dugout back in November.
Even a victory on Saturday would not be enough to lift the south-coast club out of the relegation zone, but the omens do not look good heading into the fixture anyway, with Wolves having shown plenty of improvement since Julen Lopetegui's arrival as head coach, a belief that was enhanced by last weekend's 3-0 thrashing of Liverpool.
Southampton vs Wolves Betting Tips
- Wolves to win and both teams to score @ 9/2
- #PickYourPunt - Any player to score from outside the area @ 7/4
Team news
There is some positive news for Southampton heading into Saturday's game, as they are potentially set to receive a double fitness boost, with Kyle Walker-Peters (hamstring) and Stuart Armstrong (groin) both expected to return to the matchday squad following layoffs.
New signings Kamaldeen Sulemana and Paul Onuachu are also pushing for their first starts after making their debuts from the bench during last weekend's defeat to Brentford, while fellow January recruit Mislav Orsic, who missed that 3-0 reverse in west London, could also feature.
As for Wolves, any plans Lopetegui had of naming an unchanged XI following the victory over Liverpool have been dashed due to the hamstring injury picked up by Hwang Hee-Chan in that game - Adama Traore is set to deputise for the South Korea international.
Hwang joins fellow forwards Pedro Neto, Chiquinho and Sasa Kalajdzic on the treatment table, while Nathan Collins and Joe Hodge, who were both unused substitutes against Liverpool, are among the players hoping for recalls.
Latest Southampton vs Wolves Betfred Odds
Wolves to win and both teams to score @ 9/2
Wolves were bottom of the table when former Spain and Real Madrid boss Lopetegui took charge in November, but he has overseen a vast improvement, with his side having won three of his six league games at the helm, most notably the comprehensive success over Liverpool.
Jones took over as Southampton boss at a similar time to Lopetegui's appointment at Wolves, but he has not enjoyed the same new-manager bounce, winning just one of his seven league games in charge.
Another defeat on Saturday could spell the end of Jones' time at St Mary's and the omens are not good, with the Saints having picked up the fewest home points in the Premier League this season, with their only top-flight win on their own patch coming against Chelsea in August.
Southampton also have a poor recent record against Wolves, losing the last four meetings between the two sides, as well as each of the last three encounters at St Mary's.
Saints have at least netted in seven of their 10 home league fixtures to date this season, so look well placed to get on the scoresheet, but that could be as good as it gets for Jones and co, with another defeat appearing likely.
#PickYourPunt - Any player to score from outside the area @ 7/4
Two of the Premier League's long-range specialists will be in action on Saturday, with Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse and Wolves skipper Ruben Neves both boasting plenty of pedigree from outside the area.
Ward-Prowse is particularly prolific from dead-ball situations, as only David Beckham (18) has scored more free-kick goals in the history of the Premier League than the England international (16), with two of those strikes for JWP coming this season.
Neves also knows how to strike a free kick, but he is equally adept at scoring long-range goals from open play, with 12 of his first 15 goals for Wolves coming from outside the area.
Even if you just take Ward-Prowse and Neves into consideration, there is a good chance of a goal being scored from outside the penalty area on Saturday and that is before you factor in the striking qualities of players such as Joao Moutinho, Matheus Nunes and Che Adams - the latter scored from outside the box in Southampton's recent EFL Cup defeat to Newcastle.
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