Southampton travel away to face Israeli side Hapoel tomorrow night in the Europa League as they look to extend their run of form.
The Saints have won their last four matches in all competitions; beating Sparta, Swansea, Crystal Palace and West Ham in the games building up to the clash tomorrow.
Claude Puel’s side have also kept clean sheets in all four matches. This means that Fraser Forster could claim his fourth clean sheet in-a-row – with Alex McCarthy keeping a clean sheet against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup.
Southampton won their opening Europa League clash against Sparta Prague at St Mary’s. Charlie Austin scored twice and Jay Rodriguez bagged one as the Saints dispatched Sparta 3-0.
Puel will be looking to rotate his squad once again, having played last Sunday against West Ham and an upcoming fixture in the Premier League this Sunday
Here is how I think Southampton will line-up…
Fraser Forster
Having started against Sparta – Forster is expected to start in goal.
Cuco Martina
With Cedric likely to be rested ahead of Sunday, Cuco Martina should start at right-back.
He impressed against Sparta in the opening fixture, setting up Austin for his second goal of the game.
Virgil Van Dijk
Van Dijk has been in imperious form this season – why break a good thing? He’s likely to captain the side tomorrow.
Maya Yoshida
With Jose Fonte left out of the squad, Yoshida is the obvious choice to partner Van Dijk.
Matt Targett
Ryan Bertrand has been excluded from the squad, so Targett will be given a chance to impress Puel once again at left-back.
Oriol Romeu
Romeu is the only out-and-out holding midfielder at the club. This means that he should retain his place at the base of the diamond.
James Ward-Prowse
After a goalscoring cameo against West Ham, Ward-Prowse is expected to line-up in midfield as he looks for his first European goal for the Saints.
Jordy Clasie
Clasie needs minutes and, with Steven Davis out, he should start in midfield tomorrow.
Jake Hesketh
Tadic could do with a rest and Hesketh deserves his chance to shine in the big time. Could he be the difference?
Shane Long
With Jay Rodriguez and Charlie Austin not in the squad, Shane Long and Nathan Redmond (spoilers) are the only options up front for the Saints.
Nathan Redmond
Same reason as to Shane Long – they are the only options to line-up in the forward line.