Southampton Football Club host Ipswich Town knowing that they are only half a dozen wins away from the Premiership, time to knock that down to five.
A big night of football in the Championship and Saints host Ipswich knowing that anything less than a win is going to be a set back, its tough up at the top and with both Reading and West Ham at home as well during this midweek burst of fixtures, both of whom having very winnable games, at least more winnable that our game against Ipswich who are in a fine run of form at the moment and themselves still harbour a little glimmer of hope that if they keep winning the could just squeeze a play off spot, a loss at St Mary's however would just about finish that off altogether.
Saints task is simple, win the game and hopefully win it well, a clean sheet whilst not essential is a good start, we need to keep it tight early on and take control of the game, the earlier we can score means that we can relax and start to play the football we are capable of and have certainly played in our last home outings both of which have been comfortable wins.
We have to ask a big question of the Tractor Boys and that question is Are they as good as their current form suggests ?
Hopefully the answer will be no ! out of their last six they have won five, but in the main they have beaten sides down near the bottom like Coventry, Bristol City and of course Pompey, also catching Cardiff in their Carling Cup final nervy period, their other win was a thrashing of West Ham 5-1 at Portman Road and whilst we certainly thank them for that, it was a full five weeks ago.
Their last outing on the road was a trip to Brighton when they were sent home with their tales between their legs and a 3-0 beating, lets hope that we can administer some of the same tonight.
Selection wise Nigel Adkins has a few choices, in goal it will of course be ex Ipswich custodian Kelvin Davis, fresh from the greatest game of his life, at the back it should be straightforward with the only real question mark being over Danny Fox who limped off against Leeds, it could be with games coming thick and fast that he is rested tonight.
In midfield its a little more complicated, will Adam Lallana be fit to return, if he is then Adkins has to decide what to do on the right, he could play Jason Puncheon but its more likely he will decide between Richard Chaplow and Guly, keeping Schneiderlin and Jack Cork in the centre.
Up front he has to decide who will partner Rickie Lambert, favourite would of course be Tadanari Lee, however playing him on Saturday after an arduos midweek trip to Japan and back might be a bit much and therefore Adkins could opt to let Billy Sharp off the leash.
The word for Saints is Firepower with a capital F, in Lambert and Sharp they have two players who are 20 goal a season strikers, add to that Adam Lallana and Guly who are players who get into double figures plus Lee who is capable of doing that himself and its an awesome display of goalscoring talent and thats not even mentioning David Connolly who is no slouch himself.
So its simple, clean sheet, rattle in an early goal and build on that, if only it was as easy as that, the reality is we have to take the game to Ipswich and feel confident that we are a match for anyone, Ipswich usuall only win or lose on the road, having drawn only once, similar records to Derby & Burnley when they came to St Mary's, we have to make sure that the result is the same as they took home with them, a comprehensive defeat for the away team.