Southampton will be going in search of another big three points in their battle for Championship promotion on Wednesday night.
Saturday’s dramatic victory at Birmingham City ended a run of three straight defeats in all competitions for Russell Martin‘s side.
That has kept the Saints 4th in the Championship, five points adrift of the automatic promotion places.
With 11 games of the regular season still to be played, there is time for them to overhaul that deficit.
Next up for Southampton, is the visit of Preston North End to St Mary’s in this midweek round of fixtures.
That clash with Ryan Lowe’s side, will now give the Saints the chance to end what has been something of a long wait, for this particular fixture.
Southampton looking for 2011 repeat vs Preston North End
Wednesday night’s clash between these two sides, will be the first time they have played each other at St Mary’s, since September 2011.
That previous clash between the two, ended in a 2-1 win for Southampton in the League Cup. Jos Hooiveld opened the scoring for the Saints that day, before Adam Barton equalised for the visitors.
However, Adam Lallana then struck midway through the second half. That proved to be enough to secure a 2-1 win for the home team from that match.
The only competitive meeting between the two sides since then, was the 2-2 draw at Deepdale earlier in the current campaign.
As a result, Southampton will be looking for their first home win over Preston North End in almost 13 years on Wednesday.
Indeed, prior to that clash, the last league meetings between the two sides had come in the 2008/09 campaign. The Saints did the double over the Lancashire club that season, winning 3-1 at home, and 3-2 away.
Given the circumstances this game is being played in, such a success would no doubt go down very nicely for Martin’s side.
A tough test for the Saints
This does not look as though it will be an easy assignment for Southampton as they go in search of those three points.
Preston North End will have their eyes set on a play-off spot this season. They are unbeaten in their last seven league games, and are just three points adrift of the play-off places.
As a result, they too have plenty of incentive to get something from this game, and may feel confident about doing so.
Indeed, Southampton needed a 90th minute own goal to get a point at Deepdale in the league earlier this season.
They should therefore be well aware of the task they are now about to face this midweek.
With that in mind, it could send out a welcome message that they are well and truly back on track after their recent blip, if Southampton claim all three points here.