Manawatu vs Southland Predictions - Southland to dominate against Manawatu

Southland beat Manawatu convincingly last season. Manawatu, however, won the five games before that.

Manawatu are rock bottom of the table with just two points from their six matches. They have lost all six fixtures.

There are many things concerning for Manawatu, particularly their points difference which is at a staggering -163. They are not just losing games; they are not really competing at all and most teams are now using them to rest key players.

This past weekend, Manawatu were thrashed again, this time 58-19 by North Harbour. The week before, Manawatu shipped 68 points against Bay of Plenty.

It has been a short turnaround for Manawatu after playing on Saturday. They did rest some players to keep them fresh for this encounter.

Southland have had a decent season to date given their struggles in previous seasons. They are 12th on the table with two wins from their six matches.

This season Southland have beaten Otago at home and Northland away. They have been pretty good in their other fixtures but have come up short on each occasion.

This past weekend, Southland lost 41-29 at home to Canterbury. Defensively they are not up to scratch, but they do pose plenty of attacking threats.

Southland also have a short turnaround for this game, but they have had one day longer to prepare after playing on Saturday. Still, this will be a game Southland target for their third win of the season, so a strong side is expected.