After a dismal display in Prague left Southampton’s hopes of progressing in this seasons UEFA Europa League hanging in the balance, Claude Puel’s men now need to pick themselves up as they prepare to host a familiar face as Ronald Koeman’s Everton travel to St Mary’s.
Bar the fantastic performance of rising star Sam McQueen, there were very little positives for Southampton to take from the 1-0 defeat at Sparta Prague, however, numerous first team regulars such as Jose Fonte, Cedric Soares, Ryan Bertrand, Dusan Tadic and Steven Davis played no part in the game, thus keeping them fresh for the visit of The Toffees. The defeat also meant The Saints failed to score in all three of their away European encounters and have now gone three games without victory.
As for visitors Everton, they’re also in somewhat of a slump after a strong start to the season and have only won one of their last eight in all competitions, including a 5-0 thrashing at Chelsea.
The game will see Ronald Koeman return to St Mary’s for the first time since controversially switching to Merseyside in the summer and the Everton boss has stated in an interview with The Telegraph that he “hopes the Saints fans will respect him” on Sunday afternoon.
In terms of team news, Dusan Tadic will be expected to return for the hosts as he continues to recover from a broken nose suffered while away with Serbia. Skipper Jose Fonte will also be assessed on a foot injury that kept him out of the defeat to Sparta Prague, while Steven Davis, Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand will all expect to return to the side. Full-back Matt Targett will continue to be sidelined as he continues his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury.
There is no fresh injury news for The Toffees, however, Gareth Barry returns from suspension to give Ronald Koeman something to think about selection-wise in his midfield.
I’ll now take a look back at the last four games between The Saints and The Toffees.
