Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl does not plan to bolster his squad too drastically in the January transfer window.
The Saints have enjoyed a fine start to the season and sit seventh on 24 points, though have failed to win either of their last two matches heading into a Boxing Day clash with Fulham, with games against West Ham and Liverpool rounding off their festive fixtures.
Hasenhuttl has gone without key man Danny Ings for a chunk of the season due to injury, but the former RB Leipzig coach suggested Southampton would not be looking to add to their group next month.
"If you want to do something then we do something for the future like we did in the last window in January with Kyle Walker-Peters," he said. "Maybe a player brought in on loan and then give him half a year's chance to show if he's good enough for us and then we can decide in the summer if we want to buy him. I think this is the best way to handle it and everything else doesn't make sense."
Fulham will be boosted for Saturday's meeting by the news that Joachim Andersen has had the red card he received in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United rescinded.
Andersen was harshly adjudged to have brought down Callum Wilson in the penalty area, with the Newcastle forward slotting away the spot-kick.
The incident left Scott Parker frustrated.
"The referee has given a penalty in real time which I understand," Parker told BBC Sport. "We now have VAR, which then he gets told to go and look at the screen and I don't understand what he's seen different to what I've seen. We've brought VAR into the game and what's more puzzling is we're still making wrong decisions."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham – Aleksandar Mitrovic
Fulham forward Mitrovic has not scored in any of his last 10 Premier League games, since netting twice at Leeds in a 3-4 defeat in September. It is the Serbian's longest run without a goal in English league football.
Southampton – James Ward-Prowse
Saints skipper Ward-Prowse has been involved in seven Premier League goals this season (four goals, three assists). Only in 2019-20 (five goals, four assists) and 2016-17 (four goals, four assists) has he been involved in more in a single campaign.
KEY OPTA FACTS
• Fulham have lost just one of their seven Premier League home games against Southampton (W4 D2), winning 3-2 in their last such meeting in November 2018.
• Fulham have not won a home league game on Boxing Day since 2003, drawing three and losing one of their four such games since. However, their last victory at home on 26th December was in a Premier League match against Southampton (2-0).
• Southampton lost their first two Premier League games against newly promoted teams under Hasenhuttl but have since won each of their last nine in a row.
• Southampton failed to score in a Premier League game for just the second time this season in their defeat against Manchester City last time out. They last went consecutive Premier League games without finding the net in September-October 2018 under Mark Hughes.
• Ings has scored nine goals in his last 11 Premier League away games – his next goal will be his 50th in the competition (11 for Burnley, three for Liverpool, 35 for Southampton).
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