Southampton will be looking for a reaction to a disappointing 2-1 defeat against 10-man Tottenham Hotspur last weekend when they host Chelsea this Sunday.
Saints are yet to pick up a win at St Mary’s this season, with their only home point coming in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United in August.
Their last home game was a 3-1 loss to Bournemouth a fortnight ago and another poor result this weekend will make it three league defeats in a row. Although, they did thrash rivals Portsmouth 4-0 in the cup during that time.
Chelsea have had a mixed start under Frank Lampard. Their young, English-centric side have received lots of plaudits in recent weeks, though, and will be a big threat going forward.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s plans last Saturday weren’t helped by an injury to Cedric Soares in the warm-up, which led to a change of shape from four at the back to five.
The manager has also revealed that the right-back’s injury will keep him out of this weekend’s match.
Twitter: #SaintsFC manager Ralph Hasenhüttl has confirmed @OficialCedric will not be fit for Sunday’s #CFC game.
https://t.co/kIvFRGeil7 (@SouthamptonFC)
It’s anybody’s guess as to how the shape will look on Sunday, especially in the full-back/wing-back positions, which have seen lots of rotation this season.
Here’s how we predict the side to line up:
