2 Questions and 2 Answers from Southampton's 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers

2 questions and 2 answers from Southampton’s convincing 3-0 Championship win over Blackburn Rovers at St. Mary’s.

After being made to work hard for a 2-1 Derby County win, Southampton strolled to a rather comfortable 3-0 win against Blackburn Rovers. The visitors rarely asked any questions to the Saints defence.

Even when they did, goals from Cyle Larin, Ryan Manning and Cameron Archer had ensured Tonda Eckert’s men would walk away with the three points from St. Mary’s. Just like any other Championship game, Southampton had a lot to take away from this 3-0 result and a lot to reflect on it.

That said, below are the 2 Southampton questions this Blackburn Rovers win answered and the 2 new ones it posed along the way.

2 Questions and 2 Answers from Southampton’s 3-0 win

Answers:

1. Who will replace Finn Azaz?

It’s not a question Tonda Eckert has had to think often since he took over the Southampton first team. However, a sluggish Derby County performance and a late knock forced him to. The German boss had previously deputised Cameron Archer and Shea Charles as second half subs for Azaz.

Well, both of them started but not in Azaz’s No.10 role. Instead, Kuryu Matsuki was backed. The 22-year-old Japanese sensation is a tireless runner and he covered plenty of ground in the Saints attack.

Matsuki sent a perfectly weighted pass to Cameron Archer to create the first goal through a Cyle Larin tap-in. He got in a decent shooting position inside the box on two other occasions. Once, he did fairly well to force a save but Matsuki wasted the other opportunity by sending his effort up and over from close range.

Did a fine job, overall.

2. Will Tonda Eckert pick Leo Scienza or Samuel Edozie at left wing?

Ideally, Leo Scienza should stay as Southampton’s starting left winger based on his form and importance in deciding crucial matches on his own. But the playoffs are almost confirmed for the Saints, and Blackburn Rovers at home wasn’t a daunting task for which Eckert needed his best players in each position.

That led to doubts over whether Scienza will start or get rested. Ultimately, he was given a handy rest and only brought on as a second half substitute. But simultaneously, Samuel Edozie who is deemed as the Brazilian’s left wing deputy also didn’t start.

Cameron Archer earned a surprise start. Surprise in the sense that Southampton fans didn’t expect him to get significant chances at the business end of the season. Nevertheless, Archer made the most of it.

He beat his marker on the 1-0 opener, then directed a sublime assist that straightaway fell onto Cyle Larin’s boot and into the net. He also had a moment where he took out 4 Blackburn players with his ball control and nearly scored. Even then, there was no stopping Archer who got his long-awaited goal to make it 3-0 for Southampton.

This Blackburn Rovers strike was Archer’s 5th for the Saints cause in the current 2025/26 season. And it came 19 matches after Cameron Archer scored his last Southampton goal, a 2-0 FA Cup finish at Doncaster back in January.

Questions:

1. Can Southampton catch Ipswich Town after Portsmouth upset?

While Southampton are fighting for an automatic promotion with playoffs almost confirmed, Saints local rivals Portsmouth are battling Championship relegation. Actually, every Saints fan will love the scenario where Tonda Eckert’s men go up to the Premier League and the Pompeys drop down to League One.

This almost felt close to happening, but somehow Portsmouth have upset Middlesbrough 1-0 and Ipswich Town 2-0 in quick succession. It’s not a pleasing sight for Saints fans but atleast it benefits Southampton in some way.

Ipswich Town now have 75 points to their name, 3 more than Southampton with an extra game in hand. Plus, the Saints have a Championship meeting left with Ipswich Town.

Assuming Ipswich lose another game elsewhere, and Saints defeat them at St. Mary’s then Southampton will go level with Ipswich Town on points with the same number of games played. That will bring Southampton into a stronger position to seal automatic promotion to the English top-flight.

Looking at the Saints current form, it’s very much possible. Also, if Portsmouth can beat Ipswich Town then Southampton can definitely serve Kieran McKenna’s men a Championship thrashing similar to the 5-1 dished to Wrexham a week ago.

2. How many clean sheets can Southampton wrap up from here?

Finally, Southampton got the first clean sheet of April in the 3-0 Blackburn Rovers win. The Saints were close to wrapping two more at Wrexham and Derby County, but couldn’t.

That concerned Tonda Eckert who spoke to the Daily Echo post game saying: “I think we don’t have enough clean sheets for a team that wants to play at the top of the league.” Kudos to him, first of all, for trying to correct even the smallest details missing in this Saints team.

Knowing that, how many clean sheets can Southampton realistically fetch until May? Restricting Man City to no goals in the FA Cup will be near impossible. At Swansea City and Preston North End, the task is more doable. Simply, due to the fact that both of those teams sit mid-table and have enjoyed an inconsistent Championship form of late.

One clean sheet in either of the Ipswich Town and Bristol City games will be satisfactory. All in all, picking up atleast 3 clean sheets in the following 5 games consisting of the Championship run-in and the FA Cup semi-final should be the goal for Southampton’s backline.