“Somewhat fortunate…” – Sky Sports pundit shares prediction ahead of Huddersfield vs Southampton

David Prutton has backed former club Southampton to pick up all three points when they make the trip to Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

Russell Martin’s men were expected to be in the mix for automatic promotion before a ball was kicked, and they’ve started to find their feet after a four game losing streak in September.

Three victories on the bounce prior to the international break left Saints in fourth place, although they trail the top two by nine points.

Nevertheless, there is momentum building, and Martin will want the team to kick-on over the coming weeks leading into the festive period.

Despite winning against West Brom last time out, Martin could make changes for this one. The likes of Ryan Manning, Jan Bednarek and Che Adams are pushing to start. Plus, Ross Stewart could feature once again after making his debut against Albion following an injury issue.

Meanwhile, if Southampton are optimistic and looking up, it’s a different story for the Terriers, with Darren Moore struggling since replacing Neil Warnock earlier in the campaign.

The new boss has won just one of his nine games in charge, which has seen Huddersfield drop to 21st in the table, just four points clear of the relegation zone.

So, Moore will be desperate for a win against the Saints, and he will hope it’s the catalyst for brighter times ahead.

It remains to be seen whether he makes changes for the clash, with his team suffering a disappointing loss to Hull City prior to the break, where they barely laid a glove on the Tigers, who won 1-0 thanks to a stoppage time effort.

Southampton will start as favourites for this one, and the form book certainly suggests an away win is on the cards, as the two sides go into the fixture in contrasting shape.

So, it’s perhaps no surprise that Sky Sports pundit Prutton went for a relatively comfortable away victory in his regular prediction column.

“Huddersfield have been somewhat fortunate thus far that there are three teams worse than they are in the Championship. It has given Darren Moore a bit of breathing space over what has been a poor time in charge for him.

“Southampton will be confident on the run that they have been on that this should be another win. The main concern for Russell Martin has been that the score lines have not been hugely convincing. You can’t keep winning by the odd goal in this league, but I think they’ll win this one by two! 0-2.”

The game will be played at 15:00 on Saturday at the John Smith’s Stadium.

The clubs last met in 2020, with Southampton victorious in the FA Cup tie, and they also won the last meeting in Yorkshire, when it was a Premier League fixture.

Huddersfield last beat the south coast side in 2010, when both were in League One.