The three big questions facing Southampton ahead of Crystal Palace

They welcome Crystal Palace to St Mary's while many of their relegation rivals face European-chasing opposition. 

Ruben Selles and his men do not have the luxury of dropping points now. They must already make up four on those not in the drop zone. 

A lot of supporters, drawing parallels with 2005, have given up hope. But it is not numerically confirmed yet and a great escape is possible. 

READ MORE: If Saints are to get relegated then they better go down in a blaze of glory

It is just that we have not seen any evidence to suggest it will happen, with no wins since the start of March. Here is our three big questions for Saturday...

Can Ruben Selles win back the fans?

The Spaniard was many of the players’ and the supporters’ choice when it started to become apparent he would take over from Nathan Jones.

He is a process-driven coach getting his first chance to be the manager and he excited everyone by declaring it was time to play his “ideas”.

Saints won at Chelsea in his first game in charge and after a blip at Leeds United, they then beat Leicester City to mean he had already outperformed his predecessor.

However, the truth seems to be much more along the lines of Selles merely looking to emulate what Ralph Hasenhuttl had done rather than having bright ideas of his own.

With no wins and just two points from the five Premier League matches since Leicester, supporters are beginning to get tired of his team selections.

Starting without a recognised number nine actually worked quite well last time out versus the imperious Manchester City, but it was indicative of a wider issue.

Selles has clearly earmarked some players who are just not going to get a chance under him, while the likes of Moi Elyounoussi start every week.

Forwards Joe Aribo and Mislav Orsic have not played a minute under Selles while £18million January signing Paul Onuachu watches mostly from the bench.

Selles, particularly as his post-match debrief never recognises the gravity of the situation Saints find themselves in, is on a precipice.

He is at risk of completely losing the support of the fans, just as Jones had done before him. Supporters want less talk and more action.

They sit bottom of the Premier League, four points adrift with eight games to go, and want less damage limitation and more risks.

Selles, and the club, are close to running out of time – yet it feels like they are just sleep-walking into the inevitable. The process is working and the belief is there?

They must wake up and admit they have been dreaming.

Are Palace a serious threat under Roy Hodgson?

I think there were a fair few raised eyebrows when Palace sacked Patrick Vieira and re-appointed 75 year old Roy Hodgson last month.

It was Arsenal legend Vieira who had succeeded the former England manager when he stepped away from Selhurst Park in 2021.

The Palace board, with only a handful of points between bottom and 12th just a month ago, were nervous of being dragged into a relegation scrap.

Hodgson has steered them well away from that with wins in their last two – and that is not the big story.

Even without talisman Wilfried Zaha, Hodgson’s Palace came from behind and thumped Leeds United 5-1 at Elland Road last time out.

Jordan Ayew, Ebere Eze and Odsonne Eduoard all got on the scoresheet while Michael Olise provided a hat-trick of assists in Yorkshire last weekend.

When they beat Leicester 2-1 the week before, they peppered the Foxes goal with over 31 shots. Palace fans think he’s found a way to harness their attacking talent.

It is early days but if Selles, as he has done so far during his tenure, looks to play for 0-0 after 60 minutes and nick a winner – he might just find a confident Palace too much to contain.

Is this weekend when the gap could become too big?

On paper, it actually looks like a decent weekend for Saints and one where they could make up some ground on their relegation rivals.

There are probably six teams still at risk of going down to the Championship – AFC Bournemouth, Leeds United, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Saints.

Four points separate the bottom four teams with Everton – managed by Sean Dyche – in the best form of the bunch and currently just outside the drop zone.

They play Fulham at home this weekend while Bournemouth visit Tottenham Hotspur. Leicester visit Manchester City and Forest host Manchester United.

Meanwhile, Leeds host Liverpool and Saints host Crystal Palace. On paper, Saints probably have the best fixture of them all and all the others could lose.

If Everton manage a result against a faltering Fulham – without Aleksander Mitrovic – they could put as many as seven points between themselves and Saints.

That would leave Selles’s – among the worst on goal difference – cut adrift. Points have been a must for weeks but they really are against Palace this weekend.

Whether other teams take shock results against the ‘bigger’ sides or not, the table will continue to take shape this weekend and Saints can ill afford another setback.