Saturday’s clash at St. Mary’s between Southampton and Newcastle United will see two out of form teams meet with both club’s currently near and in the relegation zone.
The home side sit just a point above 18th place Fulham, while the visitors are at the bottom of the Premier League table having failed to win a single game in the campaign so far.
With both teams in desperate need of three points, managers Mark Hughes and Rafael Benitez will be demanding more of their players including Mario Lemina and Jonjo Shelvey.
Mario Lemina
Overall, Lemina has to go down as a good signing for Southampton since joining the club from Juventus last summer — or at least in terms of ability.
What the 25-year-old does brilliantly is bulldoze through midfield with the ball, making him a great asset to have for when the Saints are trying to transition from defence into attack.
As well as that, Lemina is also a tidy passer and a player, for all of the talent he has, who is not afraid to get dirty and go to ground to try win the ball back for his team.
With all that being said, the former Juventus man’s tally of a sole Premier League goal across the 25 appearances he made last season really is not good enough given what he is capable of doing on the pitch.
Nevertheless, Lemina, a midfielder who combines both the technical and physical sides of the game so well, is still an individual Southampton probably could not do without.
TT Grade: B
Jonjo Shelvey
With Shelvey in the starting XI, Newcastle look so much better as a side. There is not really any other player in Benitez’s squad capable of carrying out what the 26-year-old does on the pitch.
From midfield, Shelvey is able to dictate play and set the tempo with his passing. The England international is often the individual to get Newcastle on the front foot once they win the ball back thanks to his ability to spot and execute the necessary forward ball.
With that in mind, what has probably cost Shelvey down the years in his development as a player is his attitude and discipline.
They are things, however, that the former Swansea City and Liverpool man has tried to correct under Benitez.
TT Grade: A-
TT Verdict:
Given their runs of form, Southampton and Newcastle should make for an exciting encounter with both teams being in a position that really should see them going all out attack against each other.
And the battle in the middle of the park in particular could make for good viewing with Lemina and Shelvey being two very entertaining midfielders to watch on their day.
But in terms of how they match up, Shelvey’s influence is on another scale.
