Leicester City travel to Southampton in an early relegation six-pointer at the bottom of the Premier League.
Leicester and Southampton were promoted from the Championship last term and have both encountered struggles since returning to the top flight.
The Foxes didn’t get off the mark till gameweek seven as Facundo Buonanotte’s strike saw Leicester beat Bournemouth 1-0.
It was three points that eased some of the pressure off Steve Cooper and left them in 15th position, five points and four places better than Southampton.
Russell Martin’s side have endured a torrid time this season, typified by Ben Brereton Diaz extending his winless drought in the Premier League to 20 matches.
That said, the Chilean striker will be keen to end that record run on Saturday afternoon, with Leicester needing to ensure he doesn’t.
Paul Merson predicts Southampton vs Leicester City
Heading into this match after the international break, Buonanotte, Patson Daka and Hamza Choudhury are the only doubts or absentees for Leicester.
Cooper did confirm that Wilfred Ndidi would be available for the trip to St Mary’s and he should start alongside Oliver Skipp once more, as he did in the win over Bournemouth.
Despite Leicester starting the better of the two sides this term, it’s a hugely difficult game to call but Paul Merson thinks their win before the break can be the catalyst to plunge the Saints into further trouble.
In his column for Sportskeeda, Merson predicts the Foxes to secure a 2-1 win: “Leicester City had a massive win before the international break, that will be a huge boost for them. They’ve climbed up to 15th in the table now, that should explain the importance of that result. If Leicester win this game, they will put a lot of daylight between them and Southampton.
“The confidence Leicester have from that win over Bournemouth will still be there despite the international break. Southampton are under too much pressure and I don’t see anything but a Leicester win in this one.”
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Leicester’s fixture against Southampton could be season-defining
Although it’s only the eighth game week of the season, whoever comes out on top in the relegation six-pointers normally grows in confidence.
Leicester have already tasted their first three points of the campaign and following that up with another against the Saints could be massive in their season.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 13 |  B’mouthBournemouth | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 8 |
| 14 |  Man UtdManchester United | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 8 |
| 15 |  LeicesterLeicester | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 6 |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 5 |
| 17 |  IpswichIpswich | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 4 |
It would open up an eight-point gap heading into winnable fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town while settling their nerves ahead of a hectic winter schedule.
Leicester have been predicted to survive relegation this term but they can only fulfil that ambition by turning over their relegation rivals in a match they must not lose.