Southampton face their biggest match in recent history when they travel to fellow relegation battlers Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night.
Saints come into the clash in south Wales outside of the bottom three but only above their opponents on goal difference, with it looking increasingly likely that a loser in the fixture will be playing Championship football next season.
The south coast outfit looked to be picking up their second successive Premier League win when they led Everton 1-0 in injury time at Goodison Park on Saturday, but a deflected Tom Davies shot in the 96th minute left them heartbroken.
Things were made even worse for Mark Hughes’ men – and Swansea – when Huddersfield Town picked up a point against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, leaving the two teams three points from safety with just six points left to play for.
With Saints facing Pep Guardiola’s men in their final game and Carlos Carvalhal’s side hosting already-relegated Stoke City, defeat at the Liberty Stadium would probably be the fatal blow.
Hughes made one change to the XI that had beaten Bournemouth previously on Merseyside as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg came in for Nathan Redmond, and he may well be considering making more alterations on Tuesday, with at least one already enforced following Maya Yoshida’s red card.
Here is how Southampton must line up against Swansea, ahead of Alex McCarthy in goal…
Southampton once again lined up with a three-man defence and two wing-backs against Everton, with Cedric Soares, Jan Bednarek, Wesley Hoedt, Maya Yoshida and Ryan Bertrand – whom Saints fans on Twitter were furious with following the final whistle – all being regular starters in that formation in recent weeks.
Yoshida’s dismissal at Goodison Park leaves Hughes with a decision though – whether to keep with five at the back and bring Jack Stephens back into the fray, or revert to a back four.
We believe he should do the latter against the Swans to allow for an extra attacking body, as Stephens was far from reliable from a defensive point of view before he was sent off against Arsenal last month.
Hughes decided to go with a midfield three of Pierre-Emile Hojberg, Oriol Romeu and Mario Lemina against the Toffees – which sometimes became a four when Dusan Tadic dropped back in – and he should go with the same trio again at the Liberty Stadium in order to try and give them some control of possession in the centre of the park.
Southampton will be hoping Lemina is fit after he was withdrawn at half-time on Merseyside following a couple of knocks in the opening 45 minutes, as the former Juventus man has really started to step up to the plate and show his quality in their previous two Premier League matches.
Redmond was dropped from the XI that beat Bournemouth for the fixture against Sam Allardyce’s men, but his huge impact from the substitutes’ bench means he has to start in south Wales.
The winger came on to score his first goal of the season in the second half – something which should have boosted his confidence – and Saints need all the goalscorers they can get in their side as they look to beat the drop.
The one-cap England international should be joined by Tadic and Charlie Austin in attack, as Hughes’ men look to get the three points that would all-but guarantee their place in the Premier League next season.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.
