SAINTS should brace themselves for a tougher challenge than Premier League leaders Chelsea when they face strugglers Hull City at St Mary's tomorrow, according to Claude Puel.

With Hull fighting for their lives at the wrong end of the top-flight, Puel believes that their battle at the bottom will make them just as difficult to play as either of their last two opponents, high flying Manchester City and Chelsea.

"We lost the last two games and it’s an important game at home to Hull City," Puel said.

"It’s important to take points because we want to finish in the first half of the table.

"Hull City will be a difficult game, we know, it’s important to have this good concentration about this game.

"I think it will be just as difficult as the last games against Chelsea and Manchester City.

“Perhaps it will be more difficult.”

Puel points to the fact that the Tigers won their last game 2-0 against Watford, despite having only ten men for more than an hour, with striker Omar Niasse being shown a straight red card on 25 minutes.

The Everton loan man's ban has since been overturned and will be available for the Saints trip.

"You can see their last game they won with ten men," Puel said. "They win their game with a good spirit and quality.

"It’s a very difficult game and if we’re not ready with this feeling, with good motivation it will be not possible to win."

Hull currently hover one place above the Premier League's relegation zone, but have boosted their hopes of survival with a series of top draw home performances.

Marco Silva's side have won their last four games at the KCOM Stadium and are unbeaten there under the former Olympiacos boss - a run which started in late December.

However, on the road, it is a different matter, with Hull winning just once away all season. That victory came all the way back in August against fellow strugglers Swansea.

Saints have been relatively poor at St Mary's this term, though, and would be 15th in the top-flight if it was based on matches on home turf alone.

With Puel's men back hosting tomorrow, the boss wants his side to rediscover some resilience at the back after conceding seven goals in two games.

Goalkeeper Fraser Forster's displays have come in for some criticism of late, but Puel wants the whole defensive unit to be stronger as a unit.

"A team for me is a collective and when we spoke about the defence, for example, it’s always we talk about three, four or five players responsibile for protecting the goal," he said, "it’s not just the goalkeeper and defenders.

"For me it’s very important that we need to progress with concentration in some situations because we can have good solidarity.

"When we lose the ball all the players have to come back to put in a place a strong defensive unit and, after, it’s important to have a good reading of the situation and to anticipate the situation.

"We need to make progress with this and it’s not just the goalkeeper, one defender, one midfielder, it's a collective and that's important for me."

Saints have no fresh injury worries ahead of tomorrow's game, with Sam McQueen and Jeremy Pied having recovered from groin injuries to be available.