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SOUTHAMPTON will hope to finish off their week with three wins as they host Bolton Wanderers on Saturday at 3PM.
Tonda Eckert’s side has enjoyed a successful week, winning the south coast derby against Portsmouth before picking up another three points on Wednesday night as they beat Norwich 1-0 thanks to a Kuryu Matsuki goal.
Bolton however, have also had a successful return to the EFL Championship this season, after winning promotion from League One last season via the playoffs, and they currently sit 14th in the table.
Steven Schumacher’s side picked up an impressive 3-1 away win against Wolves in their last game, and he said to BBC Sport post-match: “It’s not just the 11 who start, it’s everyone who comes off the bench, and it was a brilliant team performance.”
It only gets tougher for Bolton, however, as Southampton look to be one of the strongest sides in the division, currently sitting in playoff positions despite being handed a four-point deduction at the start of the season.
Everything looks to be on the up for the South Coast side, after it was announced last week that Tonda Eckert avoided a ban after being found guilty of EFL rule breaches last season over the ‘spygate’ incident, with the FA’s independent commission panel opting to give the German a suspended six-week ban, along with a £28,000 fine.
FIRST AWAY WIN = SECURED 💪 — Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) October 14, 2026
The verdict had long been looming over the club, with the Reds left unsure as to whether they would be able to hold onto Eckert, but their future seems to be a lot clearer since the verdict was delivered last week, just in time ahead of their derby win against Portsmouth.
A win for the Saints could take them as high as third, although it highly relies on other results going in their way.
“Best Team In The Division” – Schumacher Full Of Praise For The Saints
Bolton boss Schumacher has been speaking to the press ahead of his side’s trip to St Mary’s, and he acknowledges that his side will be up against it, giving compliments to his opponents.
He said: “A couple of hours after the Wolves game, your focus is on the next challenge ahead of us, which is a huge one away at Southampton. We did a lot of good things right on Tuesday night and we have to try and figure out what we did do well about our performance and then try use that for the next one.”
“There’s also an element of teams at this level; they play slightly differently to teams in League One. There is an incentive for teams to come out and attack you, so if that is the case, then sometimes there’s more space for you to take advantage of, and I am sure that’ll be the case on Saturday at St Mary’s.
“We’re not good enough to be a team that we can carry people and only play to 60% or 70%, and that’s no more of the case away at Southampton.
I think what I’ve seen of them so far, I think they’re the best team in the league. I think they’ve probably got one of the strongest squads. They’re in really good form, and they had momentum from last season. If it what happened didn’t happen, they would probably be in the Premier League now.”
Saints boss Tonda Eckert has also been speaking to the press ahead of his side’s second home fixture in a week.
He said: “Luckily, I have an assistant in my staff (Ben Reeves) who knows their manager very well (from a spell as a player at Plymouth). I think it’s been quite clear on the structure, from the little bits that I’ve seen, and on what Bolton does in possession.”
You can see the way they push high and get into their positions. I think that’s something that we will need to find an answer to. They’ve been very dangerous in the way that they have created.”
You go to Wolves away and score three goals, you don’t do that if you don’t belong in the league. Credit to Bolton, it will be a tough one on Saturday.”
