Southampton v Sunderland Tip

Something has happened in the last month or so that has gone largely unnoticed away from the south coast. Southampton have learned how to defend. They haven’t conceded more than one goal in any of their last six outings and the points have started to accrue.

The Saints are nothing longer than 21/20 (BetVictor) to win against Sunderland but the real value suddenly appears to come in taking them to win to nil - a 13/5 shot with PaddyPower.

The Black Cats looked pretty abject until the game was dead and buried against Manchester United last weekend. There’s no real shame in that but it’s been the tale in almost every away outing this season. The trip to Fulham was the one exception and the Mackems were fortunate enough to play 10 men for an hour that day.

While Sunderland toiled at Old Trafford, Southampton were in the middle of a fortnight off thanks to Chelsea’s excursions around the world. The advantage of being fresh is a considerable one at this stage of this campaign.

Adkins’ boys have won three of their last five fixtures and kept clean sheets in two of their last three at St Mary’s Stadium. With their new-found discipline, they look a strong bet to be the only goalscorers there on Saturday.