Mark Hughes has a decision or two to make ahead of the trip to Everton on Saturday both in terms of formation and personnel.

Most would agree that for 55 minutes on Sunday against Burnley Saints struggled to get to grips with playing three at the back, but was that due to the players that Mark Hughes had selected, their inexperience in playing the formation or was it just a bad choice tactically.

Certainly Burnley swept through us on to many occasions and had more chances in the first 20 minutes than they had created in two games against us last season.

With regard to the back three I do think that is was a combination of the wrong personnel as well as the fact that the three players at the back had never played together before in this formation.

Jack Stephens struggled to work out where he was meant to be positionally and seemed unable to cope with the pace and he was not helped by Cedric who in his first game of any sort for 6 weeks was having similar problems, certainly Sean Dyche seemed to have targeted this as a weak link and had his team try to exploit it.

So if Hughes employs it again at Everton then he needs to consider who should be the 3rd man alongside Vestergaard and Hoedt , Stephens was played on Saturday due to the fact he can get the ball down and play, against Burnley that would have been assumed to have been the better option than a defensive right sided player but at Everton it will be different and Jan Bednarek might be better used.

But many would suggest that reverting to a back four might be the better option, trips to Goodison Park are not the happiest days on the road for Saints teams, we haven't won there since November 1997 and prior to that our 1-0 win in April 1992 was our only other win since we won 3-0 on the final day of the 1973/74 season a result that was not enough to keep us up.

So caution might be better for Hughes as he attempts to become only the 5th manager in Saints history to win a game at Goodison Park.

A back four of Cedric, Hoedt, Vestergaard and Bertrand would know their jobs a lot better and perhaps the formation would also allow us to put in personnel further up the field to try and win the game.

But I do feel that Hughes like last season has to concentrate on getting his side tight at the back , well drilled in midfield and then build going forward.

So what do you think Mark Hughes Should Do ? Vote for your option in the link below !

https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/forum/228202/what-formation-s

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 09:34 - Aug 15 Richarlison needs to be kept quiet. Which formation will do that? I think 4 at the back as the players will be more comfortable. We were a trifle fortunate to still be in the game when we switched on Sunday. Everton at Goodison may not be so charitable.
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richardmdcooper added 10:11 - Aug 15 Back 4 for sure. Personally would go for Vestergaard with either Bednarek or Yoshida alongside him. Hoedt just makes me nervous.
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aceofthebase added 10:27 - Aug 15 Any team without Cedric gets my vote
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Jesus_02 added 10:30 - Aug 15 We play better as a 442 but we simply need to develop the ability to play other formations to allow the manager to change things as required. The back three that where selected where very slow, I would certainly consider playing Bertrand as one of three, especially we have the options of McQueen or Target depending on how attacking we want to be on that side. Personally I would prefer Yoshida on the right of the three, but I now people will disagree. I think it would give Cedric more freedom.

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A1079 added 10:47 - Aug 15 I sense an easy win for Everton I am afraid.
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Jesus_02 added 10:53 - Aug 15 @A1079. TBH I'm sensing a win also they have more talented team if we are all honest ... lets hope that either way we don't make it easy. I think the team need to remember one of Nigel Adkins favourites "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" I think we will always have a chance if we get stuck in ;)
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helpineedsomebody added 10:57 - Aug 15 yoshida cant head the ball , fouls people just outside the box, & makes basic mistakes every game. he has been doing this for years. he is a liablty. now for me i saw oriol play in china on the left side centre back he was brilliant read the game like bobby moore & passed the ball like PIRLO ID GIVE HIM A CHANCE BACK THERE . mr average manager will not be going up there to attack but bore the back side of every body coming away with a point he will wet himself , then tell us how positive his team played .

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highfield49 added 11:11 - Aug 15 I'm not a fan of the back three (five?) formation as it deprives the team of central midfield presence. It seems a long time ago since we had Wanyama and Spiderman breaking up attacks in front of the defence and getting the ball forward quickly. Ok, the game changes, and I accept that, but surely you play to the strengths of the players you've got and don't get them to do things under pressure that creates hesitancy? A prime example is Hart who was forced into trying to be a footballer rather than a 'keeper at Man City. We saw at the weekend that he can still stop shots when he is allowed to play his natural game. Overcoaching can wreck good players careers and maybe we got a glimpse of that with Redmond allowed to play with more freedom on Sunday. So, whatever lineup we have at Everton to me it makes sense to have players comfortable in their role and that seems to edge towards 442 allowing Gabbi and Ings to put pressure on the defence and take the game to the opposition. Even if we happen to lose at least it wont be because we never tried to win.

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legod7 added 11:44 - Aug 15 I think most fans would like to see 4-4-2 but I just can’t see MH starting the game with that formation. I think he will go with more or less the team that started on Sunday with Ings instead of Austin up top.
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bstokesaint added 12:32 - Aug 15 I think Highfield has literally nailed it with his comments. And mirrors pretty much what I was going to say. The “overcoaching” is a given too. With a 4-4-2 and then the likes of 2 from Schneidelin/Wanyama/Cork sitting in front of the defence we were so much harder to break down. Even Fraser felt like he could make a cup of tea and not be called into action for long periods of the game. Playing with a back 5 is so negative and again as Highfield says seems to sap all chance of any creativity out of midfield. Surely Oriol could sit in front of the defence and Armstrong or Lemina could bring the ball forwards. I’d try Yoshida and Vestergaard as a central pairing. Hoedt and Stephens still make me nervous and look like they are treading water against any kind of pace. And for all the critics of Yoshida you can’t keep banging the “he’s got a mistake in him” drum when he has been consistently reliable when called upon in the past two seasons and if you think that none of the other defenders have a mistake in them then I’d love to borrow those rose tinted specs for the rest of the season. I’d start with Ings and Austin upfront and play Elyounoussi and Redmond out wide. Having Gabbi and Long on the bench gives us options off the bench.

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DPeps added 13:04 - Aug 15 Yoshida isn't perfect, but then who is in our defence? At least Yosh has pace The problem with playing 5 at the back is that Romeu is SO defensively-minded by nature that we effectively end up with 6 at the back, which just invites pressure
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underweststand added 17:03 - Aug 15 If we play 3 at the back; it's surely got to be Vestergaard, Hoedt and Yoshida. I'm a yoshi fan (NIck) I see him as a key factor. All the alternatives are younger and less experienced.. Bednarek is a good prospect but Goodison might be a bridge too far for him. I noticed he was beaten twice by B. Moenchemgkadback's winger which led to goals. If we are to use him regularly, better start with a few more home fixtures. (On another defensive note: Good to see Alfie Jones getting a loan out...in Scotland A good prospect at just 20 years of age. He's def. one for our future).

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Jesus_02 added 17:05 - Aug 15 I think if we do play 3/5 at the back we almost need Lamina , Armstrong as the midlield pairing and Elyounoussi in a freer role behind a front two. The problem with that was we havent got a Lambert Type player that would do a shift and come deep and break things up as well as link up with a creative midfielder. We just dont have the eastblished partnership we once had. Its another effect of having too many squad players. We dont know our CB pairing our midifled pairing or our forward pairing. Hopefully this will develope over the season.

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