Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhüttl is expecting an interesting tactical battle with his Wolves counterpart, Nuno Espírito Santo, when the teams meet at St Mary's on Saturday.
Saints head into the game on the back of a stunning run, as they ride a six-match unbeaten stretch across all competitions, with five of those ending in victory.
The latest win came last weekend, as Hasenhüttl's men won 2-1 at second-place Leicester City, only two-and-a-half months on from having lost 9-0 at home to the same opposition.
ralph hasenhüttl
i think they do a fantastic job. the manager is a good one. i expect a tactically interesting game.
on wolves
They now have an opportunity to draw level on points with a Wolves team who are enjoying another impressive campaign, currently sitting in seventh position in the Premier League while also having made the last 32 of the Europa League.
"You have to praise this team, because they do a fantastic job," said Hasenhüttl. "They play around 40 games this season already, which is unbelievable, and still in every competition they are competitive and try to win every game.
"I think they do a fantastic job. The manager is a good one. We have had two clashes with them so far – last season we won at home 3-1, this season we played 1-1 against them. It was a tough game, and I also expect a tactically interesting game.
"They have good quality in attack, and also defending they don't concede a lot of goals. I think they have only lost five Premier League games so far, and that shows a lot.
"For us, they are a difficult opponent, but as we played last time we have to follow this way and then we have a chance."
Southampton's recent run means they could possibly move into the top half of the table this weekend, and, with a draw and two wins in their most recent three outings at St Mary's, Hasenhüttl explained how confidence is much higher at home than it was earlier in the season when results were so hard to come by there.
"Every game is important now, every game is difficult," he said. "All the opponents are strong, and we are feeling also strong at the moment, and this is important for us.
"We are looking forward to every game now, also the home games. We feel we can win at home, there is no discussion about whether it is away or home. We feel that the way we play helps us to be more competitive, and we enjoy it now also playing at St Mary's and I think at the weekend we must show this."
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