West Bromwich Albion vs. Southampton – English Premier League, April 12, 2021

West Brom could be a whole 11 points from safety when this game comes around on Monday. But last weekend’s thrashing of Chelsea has given the Baggies some hope of staying up.

Southampton’s comeback against Burnley sees the Saints just about safe, but some more victories are long overdue on the south coast.

Southampton has endured some testing times this season, but Ralph Hasenhuttl does have some very good players to work with when they are all fit. The win last weekend may have influenced the pricing of this game, but West Brom will be desperate for the points.

I think the draw bet might be the best one to go for.

Thiago Silva’s sending off just half an hour in might have played a big part in West Brom’s win against Chelsea last week, but it was the second win in just five games for Sam Allardyce’s side.

Another reason why West Brom was able to beat the depleted Londoners was the performance of Matheus Pereira. He hasn’t quite been able to shine in the Premier League this season but is incredibly talented. If Allardyce can get a few more top displays from him before the end of the season, the dreams of staying up might even come true.

He will be facing a Southampton side this weekend that has renewed confidence after it came back from two goals down to beat Burnley last Sunday. It has been an extremely tough year for the south coast club, so a second win in four has definitely settled the nerves.

For all its woeful results, Southampton is only four points off the top half of the table – and a good spell of form from fit-again Danny Ings, partnering Che Adams up front, could see Hasenhuttl’s side finish surprisingly high up in the league. This will be a bruising encounter, so the finesse players may not get quite as much of a chance to shine.

I think Southampton is a much better team than its league position suggests. A series of injuries and confidence-sapping defeats has meant that it remains in the bottom half of the table. But I feel it could do much better next season.

I would also back the Saints to win this one on Monday, but West Brom absolutely needs the points – and I feel as though it will get at least one here.