Last season's horrific trauma may seem to be reappearing for Southampton as Mauricio Pellegrino's men have now gone four games in all competitions without hitting the back of the net - the Saints have only been able to score two goals, both in the nerve-wracking win over West Ham United.
The south coast outfit were unable to take advantage of home turf and instead were hit on the counter attack twice, which the Hornets were able to put home.
This means that whilst Southampton are sitting on a satisfactory five points from a possible twelve, the early signs are that there seemingly a lack of clinical finishing within the ranks and that's an issue the boss will want and need to resolve as soon as possible.
Their lack of goals was a major issue last term when Claude Puel was in charge, but the chances are been created this time around, it is simply the ability to ripple the net which is the problem.
Could Mauricio Pellegrino have done something about the lack of scoring beforehand?
Prior to the transfer window's deadline day last week, the Saints had played out three top-flight matches, of which two ended in goalless stalemates.
The opener at home to Swansea City was an obvious sign of improvement as the team dominated possession and number of chances but were unable to put the ball past the goalkeeper - so the early warning signs are quite apparent at this stage.
Admittedly, the triumph against West Ham United did rejuvenate supporters and the entire camp, however, this was followed up by a second no-score draw, to Premier League new boys Huddersfield Town.
Pellegrino did have time to sort out this major issue as there was plenty of time to recruit a more prolific striker to lead the line, but understandably he has poured his trust into either Manolo Gabbiadini, who thrived upon his switch to Southampton in January, and Charlie Austin, a regular and reliable goal scorer at this level.
Attack should be the key to success for Saints
The cliché that defending is the first step of attack is far too real these days but in Southampton's case it could be the complete opposite, a magnificent turning point for Mauricio Pellegrino if he sorted this problem out.
Despite conceding four and only netting on two occasions this season, the back line is probably the strongest area of the field for the Saints and will only be reinforced with the inevitable addition of Virgil van Dijk in the very near future; both goals they shipped in the defeat to Watford were against the run of play, something that can easily be fixed on the training ground.
The amount of opportunities Southampton are producing, it is quite fair to go with the approach that attack is the new defence on home turf and if they prepare for a game like that then nine times out of ten the Saints will come out with all three points.
That said, there is already an obvious improvement in performance since the appointment of Pellegrino and it's only tweaks that are necessarily for the foreseeable future.