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Matt Le Tissier and Phil Thompson assess relegation candidates

Image: Di Canio: New boss may not be enough for Sunderland, says Le Tissier

The Premier League's top two meet on Monday Night Football when Manchester United host Manchester City - but before then there will be real drama played out at the other end of the table as team's fight for top flight survival.

Southampton's wins over Chelsea and Liverpool have really boosted their chances of survival. What do you make of their form? Le Tissier: The six points they've just picked up are unbelievably crucial. If Southampton had drawn those games they'd be on 30 points and everyone would be talking about them as one of the favourites to go down. Southampton have got some fairly decent fixtures to finish off the season - West Brom, West Ham and Stoke at home - and if they don't get more points from those games than Sunderland get from their fixtures there's something very wrong. If Southampton beat Reading live on the box this weekend I'd put my house on them staying up. Thompson: Southampton need to keep up the run they're on but I think they're going to be ok. They seem to raise their game against the big boys - look at their results against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea - but in between those matches they've struggled against the lesser teams. That comes down to player attitude, but they have a bit more to their all-round game than the other teams at the bottom. However, I'm sure Nigel Adkins will have his Reading side fired-up to get a result against his old side! Aston Villa are currently third from bottom. What makes you both think they'll survive? Le Tissier: Out of all the teams down there, you look to see which ones have got players who can drag them out of it, and the strike force of Andreas Weimann and Christian Benteke means they've got a chance. Those two players are key to Villa staying up. If they do go down it will be because they lack experience in their back four. Thompson: We saw against Liverpool the attacking threat Villa pose and that will help them - but in their defence and the players protecting the back four they need more strength and experience.

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