It will be fascinating to see whether Southampton can continue to push along among the elite of the Premier League this season.
Tonight they are at Aston Villa in what promises to be a really interesting test for them.
Considering the Saints lost their manager and a good few of their top players in the summer, it has surprised just about every pundit on the planet that they are doing so well.
They made quite a bit of money in the transfer market of course, but you have to give lots of credit to Ronald Koeman for the job he has done and the players he has brought in to St Mary’s.
You could argue he has quickly built a team which is even better than the one Mauricio Pochettino had before he left for Tottenham.
It’s hardly surprising there are reports around suggesting Holland are keeping tabs on him as their next boss.
The one statistic which highlights how well Southampton are doing is they fact they have conceded only five goals so far – and only one of those has been on their home ground.
That’s a fantastic effort from all concerned and it meant that before this weekend’s matches, they had the best goal difference in the whole Premier League.
If you don’t concede many goals and are defensively solid, then you are always going to have a chance, and Southampton are in second place in the table for one very good reason – they are playing really well.
Basically a third of the way through the season, there is every reason to suspect they will continue to pick up points and, if they are still up at the top come Christmas, then I would expect them to challenge very strongly for a top-four finish.
They are being helped by the fact that some of the usual contenders, the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal, are not doing so well this time, but take nothing away from the Saints team and Koeman.
