Can Saints keep up their good defensive record against champions?

Ronald Koeman’s Southampton could be tested by champions Manchester City on Sunday

Southampton have of course been the Premier League’s surprise package this season. The Saints are second place in the Premier League.

Ronald Koeman’s side play attractive, passing football, but it is their defensive record that is the bedrock of their good start to the campaign.

Koeman’s side have conceded just six Premier League goals this season, the least in the top-flight.

In fact the men from the south coast have the best defensive record in the top four divisions of the English game.

Changes

As we all know this summer Southampton lost a lot of players. The Saints lost highly-rated young full-back Luke Shaw and Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

The pair were replaced by loanees Ryan Bertrand and Toby Alderweireld. The pair have fitted in well in that Saints back line and have played a big part in that good defensive record.

Bertrand is starting to fulfil his potential at St Marys. The 25-year-old had only played 28 Premier League games for parent club Chelsea, but he has made 12 top-flight appearances for the Saints this season.

Bertrand also made 16 top-flight appearances for Aston Villa on-loan last season. He is now showing that he can hold down a first team spot in a Premier League team. Bertrand has scored once and also has two assists this season. He has proved a very shrewd replacement for Shaw.

Alderweireld has reportedly been scouted by many Premier League clubs in recent years, as he impressed in the Ajax defence in the Eredivisie. However, a move to Spanish champions Atletico Madrid did not quite work out for him.

The Belgium international had been linked with moves to the likes of Arsenal and Spurs in the past, so the Saints pulled-off something of a coup with his signing.

England international keeper Fraser Forster arrived in the summer from SPL giants Celtic for a fee of around £10million. Forster was immediately installed as first choice keeper, replacing Polish international Artur Boruc, who has since been loaned out to Championship Bournemouth.

Forster has repaid the faith put in him by Ronald Koeman and has looked very solid. The former-Newcastle star has made very few mistakes since his arrival, but he made an error in Monday’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa, which cost the Saints the opening goal.

Despite that mistake the giant keeper has looked like he could be yet another shrewd signing by the men from the south coast.

Dangerous

The high-flying Saints are set for a difficult run of fixtures until the new year, starting with a home game against champions Manchester City on Sunday lunchtime. The Citizens have not been in great form, but star striker Sergio Aguero looks like a constant danger to opposition defences.

The 26-year-old has scored 17 goals in 17 games in the Premier League and Champions League this season. His midweek Champions League hat-trick against Bayern Munich in a 3-2 victory was simply outstanding.

The Argentinian will present the Saints resolute defensive set-up with a major challenge on Sunday. Some have accused City of being over-reliant on their striker, but City have a lot of talented attacking players in their team, who have not yet found their best form this season.

If the likes of Samir Nasri, Steven Jovetic and Yaya Toure can hit form then City will cause the Saints big problems on Sunday. The two centre-backs Jose Fonte and Alderweireld could be kept busy by Aguero, which may create some space for City’s other talented stars.

Test

Southampton have made a flying start to the campaign, but have been accused of not facing many of the top teams so far. From now until the new year the Saints have a nightmare fixture schedule.

The next few weeks will test the Saints defence to the limit. If that backline can withstand the testing schedule over the next few weeks, then the team from the south coast may just prove to be a real contender for the top four and those Champions League spots.

Can Saints keep up their good defensive record against champions?