Adam Armstrong's early goal helped Southampton continue their Premier League revival as they inflicted a fifth defeat in a row on Aston Villa.
Dean Smith's side are short on confidence and got off to a disastrous start with Matt Cash failing to clear a long ball and Armstrong smashing in a sensational first-time effort from 20 yards.
Villa were a mess in the first half and Southampton could have led by several goals at the break, while the visitors' Anwar el Ghazi was lucky to avoid a second booking for a blatant dive.
But Villa looked like a new side in the second half with El Ghazi and Emiliano Buendia going close.
They also had a strong penalty appeal turned down when Oriol Romeu pulled Tyrone Mings' shirt, but they could not find a leveller and the pressure increases on Smith.
Southampton move up to 12th, while Villa remain only three points above the relegation zone before everybody else plays this weekend.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl later said: "We came into half-time with a lot of energy, aggression against the ball. In the second half we had not our best game with the ball.
"The opponent was giving us a lot of pressure. Then you start struggling a bit. That's why I had to change shape. We didn't play much football in the second half, we had the one chance from Che Adams.
"If you defend properly you can still win games. We are defensively more stable than last season and have the feeling we can keep clean sheets.
"The long balls are coming and they have a few big players, it's hard to defend. We couldn't control the game and that was a problem in the second half. We tried to keep them in their half. We handled it quite well. They didn't have big chances.
"Very important [run of form]. Now it looks a little better going into this international break and the Christmas period. We're in good shape."
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