Southampton....our turn now to test their credentials.

Southampton surprised more than just Everton fans with their 3-0 win last week. Have they recovered from their recent loss of form or were Everton that poor? Today we'll get some answers.
Ahead of today’s game at Selhurst Park, Ronald Koeman has highlighted the importance of stopping Palace winger Yannick Bolasie, if Southampton intend to come away from south London with all three points.
After a poor run of form, Saints saw the doom and gloom surrounding them lift slightly when they secured a much needed victory against Everton last weekend and now, they are looking to recapture the confidence that saw them catapult their way up the table in the opening months of the campaign.
Speaking to the press about what they need to do to ensure those ambitions become a reality at Selhurst Park today, Koeman said:

"In a team you always have players who makes decisions in the technical part of football and he (Bolasie) is one of those players.
“He is fast, strong and has a good left foot. We need to pay attention to him because he is an important player to them in an attacking way.
“The same goes for their defence, they have a good defensive organisation.
“It was not easy for Manchester City to break them down but it is a difficult one because maybe it is a little more direct football.
“They have physical strong players and are strong from set-pieces.
“We have to be prepared for them but of course Bolasie is one of the key creative players they have.”

From a Palace perspective, Yannick’s recent rise to national prominence has been fantastic to watch, but there remains other attacking threats, in the shape of Wilfried Zaha and Jason Puncheon most prominently, who can cause the opposition problems when given a platform.
With our game revolving around a fast counter-attacking style, we always aim to have two speedy wingers available for a pass to feet with the aim of springing a break, which, should Koeman see Bolasie as the key threat to Southampton, bodes well for the space and time that may be afforded to Zaha or Puncheon.
It will undoubtedly be a huge test for us this afternoon, particularly when you consider that we are now without a win in our last five Premier League games, but should we be able to grind out a win, the impact on our confidence could be huge as we go into a further three fixtures in the following nine days.

Hopefully Yannick is prepared for what they have in store for him and can make a contribution before we lose him to the DRC national team for a month. There is a problematic period coming up as apart from Bolasie, Palace will be without Australian captain Jedinak too.