Overall the results on Saturday were good for Saints now they need to capitalise on Manchester United's defeat at Swansea and jump back above them.

Arsenal almost threw away their two goal lead at Crystal Palace but sadly hung on despite a spirited comeback from the Eagles that saw them hit the post in the final second of the game, but although the win leapfrogged them above Saints on a positive note their goal difference is still worse than Saints, at the end of the season goal difference could be vital and Arsenal have really failed to capitalise on two good winning positions lately to swing the advantage in their favour, so although obviously we would have preferred the Gunners dropping points, there is still a positive.

The big game though was Manchester Unexcited's trip to Swansea and the Welsh side did Saints a big favour by sending them home pointless after a 2-1 defeat, this was the most important result of the day as it means that a draw with Liverpool will send Saints back into 4th place on gold difference.

United have revived of late but there has been the suspicion that they have done it by beating the lesser clubs like Burnley and Leicester and they have not even done that too convincingly, at Swansea they resorted to hoofing the ball up to Fellaini and MOTD took particulate glee in emphasising this.

So Saints now have to watch Spurs V West Ham and hope for anything bar a Spurs win, if that is the case then it sets it up nicely for the game against Liverpool and three points will see us jump back up to third, now that will be worth celebrating.

Photo: Action Images

WestSussexSaint added 09:41 - Feb 22 The race for 3rd & 4th is genuinely between 5 teams now. Arsenal's form is starting to look ominous but the rest is inconsistent so we have a chance. At this stage of the season the pressure is as much psychological as it is anything else (as demonstrated last season when Liverpool choked on the run in). A win today is not only important in terms of points but sends another message to our rivals that we are not going away.

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bstokesaint added 10:11 - Feb 22 Today is more important than 3 points. I genuinely believe if we win we'll go on to challenge for the top 4. It's about building momentum and confidence at the right time of the season when winners do and doing that against rival clubs in the same position. A win today makes us serious contenders. If we lose I think we'll struggle to stay with the pace. Personally I think Liverpool will only beat us if we're below par. It's in our own hands.

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tiptop added 10:19 - Feb 22 Agree bstoke. Massive game Our forwards need to hit form if our momentum is going to carry on, forwards other than Mane. Hopefully we will see someone, Long or maybe Djuricic provide the missing spark up front to get us firing again.
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bstokesaint added 10:38 - Feb 22 The Daily Echo have been building Djuricic up like he's the new Messi for the past 2 weeks. I hope he's up to the hype.
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