Southampton vs. Fulham – English Premier League, May 15, 2021

This fixture might well have been a make-or-break relegation battle if things had turned out a little differently. But, with Fulham already down, Southampton will see it as a good chance to pick up another morale-boosting win.

Scott Parker will want his Fulham players to go out and prove that they belong in the EPL, though. They might even be playing for their top-flight careers. 

There have not been many occasions this season that Southampton has been odds on to win a game. You’ve got to think that if Fulham were not already down, the prices would be much closer than this.

But the Cottagers have been relegated, and I can’t see the players raising themselves to win purely for pride

Southampton already knew that it was safe by the time it took to the pitch for the game against Crystal Palace on Tuesday. After two minutes, it seemed as though the players realized that they didn’t need to strain for the points either, as the Saints went a goal down.

But the return of Danny Ings to the starting eleven galvanized the home side, who struck back before halftime and then ran out as comfortable winners. A missed Palace penalty helped, but Southampton showed the energy and zip that had been missing for the majority of the season. If it reappears on Saturday, Fulham might not stand a chance.

Scott Parker accepted that his Fulham side has not been good enough after the defeat to Burnley on Monday.

Parker will need to plan for next season without a whole host of loan players that will be returning to their parent clubs in the next month. That may be part of the problem for Fulham, who never had a settled eleven fully committed to the club. Now it has to play three games already, knowing that whatever it does won’t make any difference to the final table.

I think we can definitely expect to see a quiet Fulham side in the games that are left this season. Relegation is tough at any time, but it’s happening so long before the end of the season. That has to affect the players.

Combine that with Ings and Adams returning to their goal-scoring ways for Southampton, and a home win seems like the only possible result here.