Southampton’s campaign kicked off last week, and a disappointing loss to Crystal Palaces means that this week’s fixture against Tottenham Hotspur is vital for the Saints if they want to avoid yet another frustrating season.
An early goal by Wilfred Zaha meant that the Saints found themselves chasing the game for almost 80 minutes, and despite forcing Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita into some smart saves, the South London side ran out deserved winners.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl will be fully aware that changes may need to be made to his starting 11 if they are to fare better against Spurs.
Predicted Starting 11:
Goalkeeper: Alex McCarthy
The former Palace keeper didn’t do enough wrong to justify being dropped, but with Fraser Forster and Angus Gunn also at the club, a slight dip in form maybe enough to see the 6-foot 4 keeper lose his place in the squad.
Defence: Kyle Walker-Peters, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek and Ryan Bertrand
Summer arrival Walker-Peters was almost sent off by referee Johnathan Moss before the decision was reversed after Moss reviewed the incident on the VAR monitor. Despite this, the former Spurs man still looks to be first choice after consistently strong performances last season.
Stephens, Bednarek and Bertrand will most likely keep their place – Hasenhüttl will have patience with his back line after just one game and will hope that keeping some familiarity in the back line may help the Saints stop conceding goals.
Midfielder: Moussa Djenepo, James Ward-Prowse, Oriol Romeu and Nathan Redmond
Three quarters of the midfield will look similar with only Will Smallbone losing his place in the first team. Smallbone looked poor at times against Palace and Hasenhüttl may want to inject some much-needed pace into the team.
Strikers: Danny Ings and Che Adams
Despite neither of these attackers finding the back of the net, both Englishmen will surely start against Tottenham. If it wasn’t for some Guaita heroics, Adams would have ended the encounter with Palace with a goal to his name.
Saints talisman Danny Ings remains impossible to leave out after a stellar last season, and with only Shane Long and Michael Obafemi to bring in – expect the two Englishman to start most games this season.