One winner and four losers as Southampton slip up to bottom-of-the-league Preston

Heading into the match at Deepdale on Saturday, many would have anticipated a comfortable victory for Southampton.

Indeed, on paper, Preston North End should have been there for the taking, with the Lilywhites entering the contest on a miserable five points, stuck right at the bottom of the punishing Championship.

Southampton have automatic promotion aspirations up the other end of the division, but they have now been well and truly dented, as Tonda Eckert and Co. couldn't find the back of the net against the basement dwellers in a disastrous 1-0 defeat.

Preston, arguably, deserved all three points, as they started the game energetically, with the first half numbers seeing Graham Alexander's hosts register 12 shots on Daniel Peretz's goal, next to the Saints' weak offering of three.

It was during this spell in the first 45 minutes where Preston would net their decisive winner, as Jordan Thompson thumped a glorious effort past the ex-Bayern Munich stopper on the 33rd minute mark.

Southampton struggled to mount a comeback, with only one real individual winner for the away side leaving the match with his head held high.

Away from that one anomaly, there were a lot of shoddy underperformers, as the South Coast outfit embarrassingly lost to the league's worst-performing team.

James Ward-Prowse is the only winner of note from the dire 1-0 defeat if you had to pick one.

The classy number 30 was constantly on the ball, trying to create from deep, with a mammoth 120 accurate passes next to his name at the full-time whistle.

Amassing three key passes, as well, from his monster 150 touches, his performance was begging for an assist.

Unfortunately, a game-changing assist didn't come his way, as his wasteful teammates spurned a catalogue of chances in an extremely frustrating second half.

He continues to demand a first-team spot, with Ward-Prowse ready to rest over the break to come, before coming back with a renewed fire to succeed when Derby County travel to St. Mary's later in the month.

Saints fans will be losing their patience somewhat with Leo Scienza as he put in another unconvincing performance at Deepdale.

He now hasn't scored across his last seven Championship matches, which is a very worrying barren run for a player who dazzled in the second tier last campaign, with 17 goal contributions accumulated.

The Brazilian wasted five shots at the Preston goal on Saturday afternoon, with many fans on social media voicing their frustrations with the number seven's below-par showing.

Maybe, he needs more competition to up his levels, with Jay Robinson one possible player who could offer him that, if Eckert decides to cut his AC Monza loan short down the line.

Keven Schlotterbeck has consistently been in the heart of Eckert's defence since his summer move from Augsburg.

He could be set for a period out of the team now, though, as he came off in clear discomfort, holding his shoulder, during the dismal first half.

The German colossus would have felt settled and assured as a Saints regular, with a goal even coming his way against Queens Park Rangers last month, as Eckert and Co. convincingly put the R's to the sword 4-1.

Now, he could be in the treatment room for a lengthy amount of time, as he tries to overcome the first setback of his South Coast career.

Kuryu Matsuki couldn't grab another Saints goal against the relegation-doomed hosts on Saturday.

The Japan international had been loving life in Southampton red and white in the build-up to this trip to Lancashire, with a lethal three goals collected across his last five second tier encounters.

He wasn't at his rampaging best at Deepdale, however, as he failed to hit a single on-target effort at Lee Nicholls' net from his unmemorable 90-minute outing.

Moreover, he didn't bomb forward with pace effectively, as he also failed to complete a single accurate dribble.

Matsuki has been played an awful lot in recent weeks, so he might have just been running on empty in Lancashire.

Lewis Dobbin would've loved to add to his Saints tally with a goal against his ex-employers on Saturday.

Instead, he drew another blank Southampton fans have become all too familiar with, as the £9m summer signing forgot to pack his shooting boots, with zero shots attempted at the home team's goal.

After the dust had settled on the 1-0 loss, Eckert decided to boost the disgruntled St. Mary's masses with the news that Cyle Larin will be fit enough to start against the Rams, right after the break is over.

Larin's upcoming return to the starting XI will be a huge lift to the Saints' shattered confidence, with the Brampton Bagsman boasting seven Championship strikes for the season, despite his well-known injury difficulties.

Dobbin has just one sorry strike under his belt, in stark contrast, with the promotion candidates looking rather hopeless in-front of goal when the ex-Aston Villa forward is thrown in up top.