Saints hopes of beating the drop have been boosted by an injury to a key player for one of their rivals in the relegation battle.
After the devastating death of new signing Emiliano Sala recently Cardiff City have been dealt another huge blow in their efforts to stay up after it has been confirmed that defender Sol Bamba wil now miss the rest of the season after scans showed he had ruptured his ACL for which he will have surgery this week and will not play again this season.
The defender had been one of the Bluebirds better players this season having started 28 of their 29 Premier League games before being stretchered off against Wolves at the weekend.
He was also their joint top scorer with 4 goals including the first in Cardiff's 2-1 win at St Mary's.
This is a big blow for Neil Warnock's side in their battle to beat the drop, they still have to face Chelsea & Liverpool at home as well as travel to both Manchester City and United, defeats in the games since their win at St Mary's have left them little leeway aside from these fixtures if they are to beat the drop.