Southampton will be looking to bounce back from their opening day 1-0 defeat against Newcastle United when they host Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.
Russell Martin’s men performed well on their Premier League return but Southampton were unable to capitalise on Newcastle being reduced to 10 men or take advantage of their 78% possession.
An error from Alex McCarthy ultimately proved costly as the Saints failed to come back from going behind and will now be looking to make amends this weekend.
Southampton host Nottingham Forest in their first home fixture of the season, in what could be viewed as an early relegation six-pointer, with both sides expected to fight towards the bottom.
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Paul Merson issues score prediction for Southampton vs Nottingham Forest
In their last match against the Magpies, it became abundantly clear that Southampton lacked a clinical striker who could make a difference in the match.
To stay in the Premier League, teams ideally need a player capable of hitting double figures and among their current strikers, there isn’t anyone who has achieved 10+ goals in the top flight previously.
Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson believes if Leicester gave them serial goal scorer Jamie Vardy, they would stay up in the division, with the 56-year-old issuing his concerns for their lack of clinical edge.
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However, despite raising that key issue, he still thinks the Saints will secure a ‘massive’ three points as he predicts them to win 1-0.
For Sportskeeda, Merson wrote: “Southampton were very good the other day against Newcastle in the opening exchanges of the game. They dominated Eddie Howe’s men but failed to find the back of the net despite playing with a numerical advantage for the majority of the game. That 1-0 loss will not define Saints’ season.
“But the upcoming clash against Nottingham Forest is massive for Southampton and they must get results in such games, if they want to stay in the Premier League. All the three promoted teams certainly had their moments in their opening games. If Leicester give Vardy to Southampton, I’ll back them to stay up. Saints desperately need a goalscorer.
“I’m going to back Southampton to get a win here. I think they will keep it tight at the back and secure a massive win over Forest. Now that is also a huge concern for Forest.”
Southampton desperately need a striker to stay up
Southampton played some excellent football last season and they continued to showcase their easy-on-the-eye style at St James Park.
However, for the Saints to stand any chance of staying in the Premier League, they need to sign a player who has fired goals at the top level previously.
Admittedly, with just a week left to go in the transfer window, a player of that calibre is hard to come by.
But, that doesn’t take away from the fact a clinical goal scorer could make all the difference in their fight for survival, as currently, it doesn’t look like they have enough.
Indeed, they’ll need to add extra firepower to their forward line of Ben Brereton Diaz, Cameron Archer and Adam Armstrong to boost their survival chances.