Southampton welcome Brentford to St. Mary's in the Premier League on Wednesday evening, looking to build upon the point taken from Old Trafford last weekend.
With Casemiro dismissed for a reckless, high-booted challenge in the first half of the league encounter, Saints assumed license to drive forward and seek a monumental upset, having defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge two weeks prior.
The match ended a draw, goalless, but Southampton boss Ruben Selles can take solace in the knowledge that three clean sheets have been kept from his four matches in charge, with the bottom-placed club now just two points from safety, although with a far inferior goal difference to Leeds United, three points would be needed to get heads above water once more.
Which means defeating Brentford, who lost to Saints’ relegation rivals Everton last weekend, is imperative to finally climb out of the bottom three having spent 13 weeks embroiled in their relegation zone quandary.
Should Walcott start vs Brentford?
Against the Red Devils, veteran winger Theo Walcott was among the more robust of the Saints squad, notably forcing a point-blank save from David De Gea, with the Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell labelling it a “glorious chance”.
As per Sofascore, the former Arsenal star hit the target twice and made two key passes, winning four of his seven duels and making two interceptions, illustrating the innate predatory instinct that has not yet left.
With Walcott also winning six of his 11 duels against Leicester City in the preceding fixture, his combative nature could indeed pay dividends, with Thomas Frank’s outfit’s 375 tackles the second-lowest in the division, behind only Manchester City, an area Selles will undoubtedly be seeking to exploit with a gritty approach.
Once hailed as “relentless” by journalist Patrick Boyland, the 33-years-old has led a distinguished Premier League career, scoring 78 goals and supplying 62 assists from 385 appearances.
The 47-cap England international has made eight Premier League appearances all season, but has found a starting berth on the past two occasions, with Southampton winning against the Foxes before the draw at Old Trafford, and given the club look to continue the recent purple patch and complete an emphatic turnaround, Walcott must retain his starting role in a bid to boost their survival hopes.
The £75k-per-week star could indeed make an impact; with the Bees having won just one of the past four fixtures, the winger’s career average 1.8 shots per match and 0.8 key passes could be a definitive factor, as per WhoScored.
With former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger once heralding the “absolutely sensational” phenom, Selles will hope the ace can channel the very best of his ability and secure an imperative victory to finally lift Southampton from the rubble.