Marco Silva insisted that he remains fully focused on Fulham amid links to a potential switch to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
Silva has been mooted as a possible replacement for Ange Postecoglou, who is facing continual speculation over his future following a poor Premier League campaign.
Fulham find themselves ninth in the table with the possibility of earning European football next season, something Silva said was his priority for the rest of the term.
“My head is at Fulham. We don’t control everything that happens around us. It’s not part of me,” Silva said.
“With such important games week after week, our total focus is here, and we control what we can, which is preparing the players for the next games.”
The Cottagers do, however, come into their upcoming Premier League clash against relegated Southampton on the back of a defeat to fellow European hopefuls, Chelsea.
Two late goals from Tyrique George and Pedro Neto completed the turnaround for the Blues, with Silva frustrated by his team’s late collapse at Craven Cottage.
“They started to play in our half. I really believe the result is very harsh for us, but the second half was not our level, and we lost the game,” Silva added.
Another man linked with a move to north London next season is Southampton’s Tyler Dibling, who has impressed during his debut season in the Premier League.
The 19-year-old has made 29 top-flight appearances this campaign, scoring twice and notching one assist, with his displays attracting the attention of some big clubs.
Southampton have reportedly put a £100million price tag on Dibling, with the likes of Newcastle United and Manchester United also keen on his services.
“There are a few nicknames going around,” said Dibling. “It is all jokes. Nobody takes it seriously. It’s just a number. It’s all fun.
“‘Rambo [Aaron Ramsdale] loves it to be fair. I’ll miss a shot in training, and he’ll just go ’90 million’ or ’80 million’ as it goes down.
“It’s all good fun, but I’m just trying to practise every day and to get better. I just go in to train the best I can every day and work hard.
“At the end of the day, I love Southampton. I have been here since I was eight. It is such a great team, and I am working to do big things with them.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Southampton – Mateus Fernandes
In a rare away point for Southampton this season, Fernandes was once again the standout player for the Saints against West Ham United last time out.
He ended the contest having created more chances (three), played more passes into the final third (22) and produced more crosses (nine) than any of his team-mates.
Fulham – Alex Iwobi
Iwobi is enjoying his best Premier League season in terms of goals scored (nine) and overall goal involvements (14).
However, just one of his nine strikes this term has come outside of London, though he will be confident of finding the back of the net against a struggling Saints team.
MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN
Fulham have won two of their last three Premier League games against Southampton (D1), as many as they had in their previous 11 (D5 L4).
But the Cottagers have lost their last three Premier League away games, as many as in their previous 16 on the road (W8 D5). Two of these three defeats have come on the south coast (vs Brighton and Bournemouth).
Southampton, meanwhile, were unbeaten in 21 home league games against Fulham between 1937 and 2021 (W15 D6), but lost the last such meeting 2-0 in May 2023, a result that confirmed their relegation from the Premier League.
Saints have lost 13 Premier League home games this season, including 10 of their last 11 (D1). The only sides to ever lose 14+ home matches in a single campaign in the competition were Sunderland in 2002-03 (14), the Black Cats again in 2005-06 (14), Huddersfield Town in 2018-19 (14), and Watford in 2021-22 (15).
They have also conceded 78 goals in the Premier League this season, their most in a league campaign since 1971-72 (80), and their most ever in a 20-team league. Indeed, they’ve kept just two clean sheets this term, though one of those was in the reverse fixture against Fulham.
Southampton have faced more shots (579) and more shots on target (229) than any other top flight side this season. Their average of 17.6 shots and 6.9 shots on target faced per game is their highest on record (since 2003-04) in a single Premier League campaign.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Southampton – 22%
Draw – 23.4%
Fulham – 54.6%
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