Two questions and two answers as Southampton close gap on relegation rivals | OneFootball

Deep diving into Saturday's biggest talking points as Southampton ran winners in front of Premier League rivals Ipswich Town.

Southampton's weekend game at Portman Road was billed as an important relegation fixture. It was a classic Premier League survival six-pointer, one where the Saints emerged victorious.

Not only did Southampton take home the three points, Saturday's results went into the club's favour as well. In case you missed it, Leicester City suffered an embarrassing 4-0 defeat against Everton.

That dropped them to the relegation zone, where they lead Southampton by eight points. It's wise to admit that this was a good matchday for the Saints.

Now, let's discuss the biggest talking points from this morale-boosting win.

Two questions and two answers as Southampton close gap on relegation rivals

As always, we'll see the two answers we got from this exhilarating 2-1 win. Subsequently, we will deep dive into the two important questions before the next matchweek.

Two Answers

Will any of Southampton's debutants start the fixture?

Saints' manager Ivan Juric sent the fans ecstatic after revealing about Gronbaek and Welington's possible involvement against Ipswich Town. Though the former was the only one expected to start, it was the latter who won over the traveling Southampton supporters.

To the point that he even outshone Gronbaek's rather decent outing. Still, the midfielder also showed glimpses of his talent and can become an essential player going forward.

Will Juric attempt to refine the defensive formation?

The past two weeks reflected the subpar link up between the starting defenders Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek and Bree. Thus, a change was touted to be on the cards for the evening fixture.

In the end, Juric entrusted all of them with Welington's arrival being the only defensive change. Surprisingly, Bree stepped up while the former two couldn't match the intensity of the Ipswich forwards.

Luckily, everything worked out well but everyone must start to compliment each other's defensive work soon.

Two Questions

Is Joe Aribo Southampton's most versatile player currently?

At the beginning of the season, every Southampton fan considered Kyle Walker-Peters as the most versatile squad player. That's certainly right but Joe Aribo's hardworking efforts against Ipswich also deserves enough applause.

The 28-year-old scored the opening goal, made crucial recoveries and even assumed the defensive responsibilities. Honestly, Southampton would have lost again if not for an inspiring performance from Aribo.

Can Paul Onuachu finally fulfill the task for which he was signed?

Southampton invested heavily in Onuachu's goalscoring as a promising transfer to see off relegation. Unluckily, the season completed but the objective remained unfulfilled.

After almost two years of that failed signing, Onuachu is finally living up to his potential. The recent winning goal has revived that promise again and a successful outcome this time would undoubtedly make Onuachu's arrival worth it.