3 goals conceded all season – Is it time to take Southampton seriously?

Every season of the English Premier League has a surprise package. Last season it was West Bromwich Albion, who were within one win of the top four at Christmas and finished in eighth position. The season before that it was Newcastle United who, still relatively fresh after promotion from the Championship, came within a whisker of winning a place in the Champions League. This year, Mauricio Pochettino’s Southampton have defied expectations with their performances.

When you look closely at the form the Saints are in and the talent they have, there’s no reason to suggest they can’t make a serious splash in the Premier League this season.

Much of what Pochettino has built this season starts with their defence.

Led by the in-form Artur Boruc, Southampton have established the best defensive presence in the league; no other team has chalked up a Defensive Score higher than the south-coast side.

Boruc currently leads the league in clean sheets, and out of the top defensive players in the Premier League so far this year, the Saints lay claim to three of the top five.

Incredibly, as a team, they are also yet to register a single defensive error.

From there, the focus turns to their midfield, where a bright infusion of young talent in attack and defensive solidity is turning the Saints into a fearful presence.

Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin (who led the league in total tackles won last year) are dominating as a defensive presence, while ahead of them, James Ward-Prowse is quickly building a reputation for himself. Already, the youngster ranks in the top five players for total chances created, while fellow midfielderAdam Lallana also comes inside the top 10 players.

All of that comes without mentioning their attack either, which has accounted for 10 goals to date.

The likes of Rickie Lambert (12 percent) and Jay Rodriguez (16.7 per cent) both have very strong chance conversion rates, and are beginning to take advantage of the chances being created behind them. With summer signing Pablo Osvaldo waiting in the wings as well, the Saints’ striker trio is perhaps one of the most underrated in the league this season, and is certainly capable of causing serious havoc for some of the league’s better defensive units.

Perhaps the most incredible element of it all, though, is their results.

Since September 1, Southampton have conceded just one goal.

Undefeated in that time, they have beaten Liverpool at Anfield and have held Manchester United at Old Trafford. They have not been defeated at St. Mary’s Stadium all season, and with the likes of Stoke City and Hull up next on their schedule, there’s a real chance that their undefeated record will remain in tact—which is something that few would have expected heading into November.

It’s important to remember that the season still does have a long way to run and that there’s still a mountain of football to play.

Southampton’s year—just like any other club—still has many chapters left unwritten and there’s no guarantees that the Saints will be traveling as well as they are now come late March or April in the Premier League. Having said that, though, the signs are there for Pochettino’s team to be a serious contender all year, and not to drop off like all the other ‘surprise packages’ seem to do.

Whether that means a top-half finish, a top-six finish or even Europa League football still remains to be seen. At their current rate of progress, anything less than a Europa League finish might be considered a disappointment.