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Southampton face three London sides before the end of the year with Fulham, West Ham and Crystal Palace up next.
Southampton are on the verge of appointing Ivan Juric as the club's new manager following the sacking of Russell Martin this week. The Croat was most recently manager of Roma, who dismissed the coach in November after just 12 matches in charge and would arrive in the Premier League for the first time.
Former West Ham manager David Moyes and current Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl had been touted as frontrunners for the role at St Mary's but the south coast side appear to have found their man in Juric. The 49-year-old is somewhat of an unknown to Premier League rivals but does arrive with pedigree.
Juric, who is set to sign an 18 month deal, is unlikely to lead the side against Fulham on Sunday but could be in the hotseat for the Boxing Day clash against West Ham and the trip to Crystal Palace on December 29. LondonWorld looks at what the Hammers and the Eagles can work out already about how the new-look Saints side could shape up.
Southampton set to appoint Ivan Juric
Juric began his coaching career as an assistant to Gian Piero Gasperini at Inter and Palermo. Gasperini is known for his defensive organisation and disciplined approach, which has become hallmarks of Juric's game.
Ivan Juric's sides are known to commit fouls.Ivan Juric's sides are known to commit fouls.
Ivan Juric's sides are known to commit fouls. | AFP via Getty Images
The Croatian has managed Genoa, Hellas Verona and Torino and made a name for himself by achieving consistency without much financial backing. Those spells on his CV no doubt made him an attractive option for the Saints, who sit bottom of the Premier League table, four points adrift of safety.
A deep dive into the manager's tactics while at Torino by The Guardian praised the side's 'high press' and the coach's desire to have players paired up one-on-one with opponents all over the pitch. It also picked up on the 'sheer levels of aggression' in a team whose forwards were encouraged to attack the ball carrier at every opportunity.
West Ham and Crystal Palace should expect ‘messy’ Saints
The result? 'Messy matches'. Juric's Torino side were known for committing more fouls than any other team in the Serie A by quite some distance but those infringements were often more tactical rather than reckless.
The outlet labelled those tactics as a 'death metal' approach in a nod to the manager's penchant for the genre of music. Talking about his love for music, Juric once said: “I started at 14 years old with Metallica and Megadeth, then I moved on to more aggressive things. Death metal is my passion, bands like Napalm Death, Obituary and Carcass.”
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It's all promising signs for a Southampton team that needs an injection of mettle ahead of upcoming fixtures against London clubs. West Ham have a draw and a win in their last two outings before this weekend's visit of Brighton.
The Hammers then travel to Southampton on Boxing Day in a fixture that under pressure Julen Lopetegui will be expected to win given the Saints' form. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have the tricky visit of Arsenal and then a difficult trip to AFC Bournemouth before welcoming the Saints to Selhurst Park to round off the calendar year.
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