Southampton will be hoping to progress to the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, when they welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to St Mary’s.
The Saints enjoyed a hugely successful League Cup campaign last term. They beat Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Arsenal and Liverpool over two legs to reach the final at Wembley. They were defeated by Manchester United in what was an enthralling encounter, and they’re sure to be keen on reaching similar heights this time around.
Mauricio Pellegrino will be keen to rotate his side, with the Huddersfield match in the Premier League in mind this weekend.
Several first-team players have not played as much as they would have hoped for in the first two weeks of the campaign, and will be vying to impress the Saints boss when Nuno Santo takes his side to St Mary’s.
Pellegrino will, however, need to field a reasonable team, given Wolves’ early season form. They will certainly prove to be a difficult opponent.
So, without further ado, take a look at how I think Saints will line up against the Championship side!
Alex McCarthy
McCarthy is back in full training and should be given his chance to impress in place of Fraser Forster.
Cedric Soares
With Jeremy Pied seemingly out of action with an injury, Cedric is the only fit and available right-back.
Jan Bednarek
I expect Bednarek to come in for Jack Stephens. He’ll be keen to impress on his competitive Saints debut.
Maya Yoshida
Yoshida is likely to be given the captain’s armband, and his experience could prove important given that Bednarek is new to English football.
Matt Targett
Targett is likely to come in for Ryan Bertrand at left-back. However, it’d come as no surprise to see Sam McQueen start here instead.
Oriol Romeu
Romeu is likely to retain his place in the middle to ensure everything ticks over from deep.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
It’s likely that Hojbjerg will come into the side. He’s not even been on the bench recently and with Jordy Clasie having been placed on the transfer list, the Danish international is set to get given a big chance.
James Ward-Prowse
Ward-Prowse is likely to start on the right, having been benched against West Ham.
Dusan Tadic
Tadic is likely to start in the hole again and will be keen to impress against weaker opposition.
Sofiane Boufal
Boufal has been unfortunate not to feature more in recent weeks after a successful pre-season, and will relish an opportunity to impress.
Charlie Austin
Austin has been on the bench for the opening two fixtures, so I expect him to deservedly get his chance.