Although Claude Puel is right to have rotated his squad in recent weeks and indeed is now in a very busy period, if he puts out a good team against Inter Milan we could find ourself on the cusp of qualifying from the group.

This is not a criticism of Claude Puel's squad rotation policy, far from it I have often said how well he has worked it, however sometimes you have to do a little less rotating and the trip to Inter Milan could well be one of those games.

Although Inter are in turmoil at the moment with the manager and certain players under fire from the fans, the fact still remains they are a formidable side at home and we cannot underestimate them.

If we can go to the San Siro and win then we would not only almost certainly be top of the group and perhaps only one home win away from qualification.

This would be a big achievement for the club and we need to be putting out a fairly decent side.

To make matter worse at the back we are going to be without both first choice full backs and indeed the second choice left back, so it is important that we do not make the situation worse, we need both Virgil Van Dijk and Jose Fonte in for this one.

In midfield it's not so much of a problem as we have the likes of Pierre Emile Hojbjerg and James Ward Prowse on the bench from Sunday and fresh, both are likely to play.

Perhaps the biggest issue though is whether Charlie Austin plays or not, my thoughts are that he should, he is in form and perhaps the fact that Puel substituted him against Burnley with 20 minutes to go when he was in with a good chance of a hat trick is indication that he intends him to play some part in this game.

Sometimes you have to throw players into tough periods, they are very fit and should not have a problem playing three games in a short period every once in a while, of course they cant do this over prolonged periods, but every now and then it's needed to see us through important matches.

I trust Claude Puel to get things right, he has shown us that he knows what he is doing and has earned that trust, however I want us to take this game very seriously and not only make this a great night to remember for the 7,000 travelling Saints supporters, but one of the great nights in our history and a win would certainly do that and as I said earlier put us on the cusp of qualification.

Photo: Action Images

SaintBrock added 09:36 - Oct 18 There is no doubt Mr Puel will take this game seriously, if we want guaranteed European football next year and with the strength of the top eight in the PL we will need to win this championship to find a route in.
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SanMarco added 09:51 - Oct 18 I agree - I think there could be a danger that we now see Inter as the easiest side in the group. For me the Inter game is just as important as Man City and we should select accordingly. If Austin can only do one then put him in against Inter.
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schatfield added 11:04 - Oct 18 I get the feeling Jay will start with Austin on the bench but perhaps coming on the 60 minute mark. It will be a tough test this week with Man City away too; reckon we might even see Mr record signing too.
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SalisburySaint added 11:24 - Oct 18 if we play a strong sides and win the two Inter games which we are capable of doing as they do not seem to be interested we would be on verge of getting through group and could then afford to play extremely weakened teams in out last two group games Plus I would have thought all our first team squad would be keen and looking forward in playing at he San Siro in much the same way as the fans are looking forward to the trip

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SonicBoom added 12:07 - Oct 18 i would hope that the club put a decent side out. These are the games we strived for last season so we should want to win them. But more importantly 7000 fans have made the effort and deserve to watch a strong side.
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truthfulsaint added 12:53 - Oct 18 What's more important (bigger picture) is giving Shane Long the chance to hit form. Austin should be rested. If we lost this game which I seriously doubt, we still get them at home.
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michaeljoycetf added 13:30 - Oct 18 Does anyone believe for 1 moment Saints wont be taking this game seriously ? Of course not. Field a weak side? No. The manager has explained. many times that he will operate a rotation system. for all the obvious reasons. He's no fool and we have to learn to put our faith in him.
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Whatsforpud added 15:02 - Oct 18 Whoever Puel selects, I hope that the whole squad is included in the trip, as it is a shorter flight than that to Israel. It would seem wrong to exclude first teamers to experience the San Siro. The player I would least like to rotate is VVD, but at least he can be rested in the Sunderland League Cup next week.
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BaselSaint added 08:55 - Oct 19 This is exactly why Claude Puel was brought to this club - to manage European nights like this. Rotation, knowledge of the Europa League and the tactics is what he is here for. More so than Koeman. We will win.
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