Saints V Watford The Preview Friday, 8th Sep 2017 13:00 Saints take on Watford looking to get three points and perhaps propel themselves into the top 5 come Saturday evening. Saints go into the home fixture against Watford looking for a win that could take them into the top 5 and make it a decent start to the season. The media is concentrating on whether Virgil Van Dijk would be returning to the squad for this game, but Mauricio Pellegrino seemed to make it clear in his press conference that until he had played a game of some kind presumably for the U23 side, then he would not be considered for the first team. One player who is likely to play though is Wesley Hoedt who looks likely to replace Jack Stephens, I won't dwell on this too much as I have covered it in more depth in other articles in the run up to the game, but simply put you sign a player for £15 million for a reason, you have to play him. Elsewhere in the team Mauricio Pellegrino has options it is only how he chooses to use them. some have suggested that he might revert to a back three slotting Hoedt inbetween Yoshida and Stephens, this was a formation he used against Wolves in the League cup, but which didn't work, however with Hoedn't in the centre holding it and with Soares and Bertrand as wing backs, it has the potential to work a lot better than it did in the cup game, so I would not completely rule it out. However I do expect the manager to make changes like this gradually and this being the case and with it being Hoedt's debut I would expect him to keep the shape as it was in the opening three league games, that means a back four of Soares, Yoshida, Hoedt and Bertrand. In the centre of midfield a holding two of Romeu and Lemina and then it gets interesting. Pellegrino then has to decide who he plays in the forward position in the centre, does he go for the tidiness of Steven Davis, does he go for the passing ability of JWP, does he go for the flair of Sofiane Boufal or does he perhaps try something completely different using either Charlie Austin or Manolo Gabbiadini in that role effectivily utilising two attackers. Out wide I think Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic are first choices at present and no one has really challenged them for that position although both probably need to put in a decent display to get a few critics off their back, most of it undeserved. So the manager has plenty of options going forward and i think he can now start to utilise them as he now has players who can sit and hold both in the centre of defence as well as midfield, something we did not have in the latter half of last season. Whoever he choses he will have strength in depth on the bench and I think this could serve us well in the final stages of the game. That means that hopefully we can cut out the free chances that have blighted the opening fixtures, too many times have we given the opposition a free header of shot on goal from close range, it happened in both the Swansea and Huddersfield games without us conceding, against West Ham we did get away with it a couple of times, but on the third attempt although Forster saved a header from the unmarked Antonio, the rebound was swept in, we have to cut this out. But I think Mauricio Pellegrino will go into this game with a lot more confidence that he has key players in place he didnt have when the season kicked off, that he can now start to truly impose his methods on a squad that has the ability to play in the way that he wants them to. If we win then we can perhapsgo into the top 5, a win would see us on 8 points and with Manchester City and Liverpool playing and both on 7 points have to be dropped there, if they drew it would need to be a good win to leapfrog either of them let alone both, but a win for either side could see us jump above the loser. Huddersfield don't play till Monday when they visit West Ham, so we would go above them initially at least till then, West Brom are at Brighton, if they drew we would probably go above them on goal difference and Chelsea are at Leicester again if they drew then a win for us would see us leapfrog them. Finally the team directly above us in 7th are Watford, so beating them would guarantee us at least 7th come 5pm on Saturday. Its looking like a full house again at St Mary;s with only a couple of hundred tickets left in the home sections as of Friday lunchtime, so if you are planning on getting along make it quick. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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