Southampton near Championship form table summit but held back by familiar foe

Southampton are in fine form at the moment heading into the upcoming international break.

October saw the Saints pick up four Championship victories, as Portsmouth, Norwich City, West Ham United, and Queens Park Rangers were all beaten in quick succession.

They have had to settle for two draws in recent times, as they wasted several chances during a 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers, and spurned some more openings away at West Bromwich Albion to begin November with a 1-1 draw.

But, they're in promotion contending form, that's for sure, with the South Coast side only four points off the very top of the Championship table, which is currently occupied by Middlesbrough, their Spygate foe.

Despite being unbeaten in league action since losing 2-1 to Wrexham in mid-September, Tonda Eckert's men are not sat at the top of the form table, either, with another familiar enemy pipping them to the top.

Amazingly, despite coming up short in the South Coast Derby last month, John Mousinho's Pompey are sat top of the form table, when taking into account the last five Championship matches.

Clearly, that 1-0 defeat in such a brutal Derby match has spurred them on to turn around their fortunes, with impressive wins against Millwall and Swansea City, among other results, seeing them go unbeaten across their last five league clashes with four wins and one draw accumulated.

There is a winnable match on the horizon for Pompey, too, before the break intervenes, as they host Stoke City, who sit sixth in the form rankings, when looking at the graphic above.

This major upturn in form means Mousinho and Co. are only two points behind their South Coast adversaries, when taking a glance at the proper 1-24 table, heading into the latest round of games.

Thankfully, Southampton face a Preston North End team winless across their last five matches at an intimdating St. Mary's this approaching Saturday, so Pompey shouldn't leapfrog their foe, fingers crossed.

At the end of the day, the only standings that truly matter is the one after the 46th league game has concluded, as Southampton aim to be top of the pile, come May, away from temporary purple patches.

Annoyingly, if they hadn't been struck down with a four point deduction, Eckert's men would currently be sat top of the mountain on goal difference, owing to Middlesbrough's shock 2-0 defeat to Wrexham mid-week.

The wins will just need to keep coming to ensure they remain hot on the heels of Kim Hellberg's overall table-toppers, with Eckert rightly calling for switched on heads at the weekend, as a victory will still need to clinched through hard work, irrespective of Preston's lowly position.

They have the team that can go the distance, arguably, with the Saints now boasting 15 different goalscorers this season in all competitions, after Samuel Edozie smashed the ball home for 1-1 at the Hawthorns.

With January on the agenda to make some reinforcements, too, the hope will be that South Coast giants get better with time, and the good form doesn't accidentally slide.

It will be very interesting to see what spot in the league Pompey occupy come the end of the long and arduous 46-game slog, as only four losses at this stage of the campaign is commendable.

Southampton will be hoping they can leave their sworn enemies from down the road in the dust, as they finally return to the Premier League, over Mousinho's men being a constant nuisance all season long.