Here we are again back at the King Power Stadium almost 3 months to the day after a last day of the season debacle that just about categorised the final two months of the season, but this is a new one and things are changing.

Back in May Saints went to Leicester on the final day of the season a side that looked like they just wanted the season over with, most of the defeats bar Chelsea & Brentford in the poor run had been close run things, but the memory will be that we collapsed and were uncompetitive in every game.

Even though it was only three months ago that will be the feeling of many, certainly mine, so it surprised me to check the stats and found out it was 0-0 at half time, Leicester didn't score till the 49th minute and that with 10 minutes left it was only 2-1 to the home side.

The stats weren't that much different, they had 10 attempts on goal we had 7, but they put 4 of theirs in the net and we only 1.

In many ways in condensed the final two months of the season into 90 minutes, any good work we did in a game was thrown away by poor defending.

To be frank I wouldn't argue with anyone who says we have carried on where we left off in that respect in our opening two games, but the truth is that we have improved and it is likely that of the team that played at Leicester in May at least four new faces will be in the side and perhaps 5 of the team that started that game will not be in the starting XI for this one.

No one is saying that we are the finished article at the moment, but we have made progress and we need to keep moving forward, we always start badly for some reason, so history tells us that a poor start for Southampton is no guide to the future, our best League season in three decades in 2015/16 saw us fail to win till our 4th Premier League game, that being our only win in the opening 6, yet we ended up 6th.

So there is no cause for panic yet, the squad as it stands is as good now as it was this time last year, if we judge it's capabilities, we have to judge it as much as it's form between December and March as we do in it's last two months.

So perhaps Leicester City is a benchmark as to how we have improved, on Saturday against Leeds United Ralph Hasenhuttl knew that he had to be cautious, so he refrained from having a side with all of his new young signings in it, although some would say that he made a mistake, I would also say that he played it right, he was just let down by some lax defending, but he had saved his attacking talent for the final half hour and that paid off, if he had put out an attacking starting line up, we might have been 2-0 down before half time let alone the hour mark.

Hasenhuttl gambled that we could hold Leeds and then put on the pressure in the last half hour, but we all know why it went wrong, no leader at the back and until we sort that our defence will always be a game of chance and luck.

So what does the Austrian do for this game, the clamour will be for the heroes of the half hour on Saturday, Sekou Mara and Joe Aribo to start the game, but does he opt for attack or again cautious to start and build up to a finish.

His main issue though is at the back, he has no leader, Salisu has gone backwards from his form of the middle of last season because just when he needs someone talking him through a game and mentoring him he has no one, Armel Bella-Kotcha likewise, he showed on Saturday he can be a player at this level, but he is learning and he needs a mentor.

Truth is though Hasenhuttl has no option other than to play Jan Bednarek, the Pole is not a leader, that is not to criticise him, central defenders generally fall into two categories, stoppers and organisers, he is a stopper, so where some very good central defenders over the years, at the back you need a balance and we haven't got that balance.

Personally I would consider playing Oriol Romeu in the centre of a back three, those who call Hasenhuttl clueless for instance weren't at Old Trafford last season when after heavy United pressure, he changed the side and dropped Romeu into a back three, we went on to get a draw and perhaps should have had more.

So perhaps doing this from the start would work, play Romeu in the centre in between Salisu and ABK.

Some would opt for a back four, I can see why, but again which two do you play, Bednarek is disinterested, but has experience, Salisu & Bella-Kotchap are still raw at this level.

Another bone of contention is the left wing back spot, on the right hand side KWP is superb but on the left Djenepo seems to be the latest whipping boy, his only crime is to be filling in to a position where at the moment there is not a lot of options, in truth he hasn't shirked the job and going forward at least he has looked good with an assist at Spurs and lively against Leeds, but when we are defending he has to be talked through the game from behind and no one seems to do that, it is not just his fault.

Personally I think Stuart Armstrong could do a job in this position, but I also think Djenepo is not as bad as some would have you believe

In the centre of midfield JWP & Lavia are forming a solid partnership, but the final positions in the team are up for grabs. in effect the three positions not claimed are attacking central midfielder and the two strikers.

In terms of sitting in front of the midfield two, we have Joe Aribo who is perhaps the current best option, Stuart Armstrong & Moi Elyounoussi.

Up front we have Che Adams, Sekou Mara & Adam Armstrong for the two strikers roles, with potentially using Elyounoussi or Stuart Armstrong as auxiliary strikers.

From what I saw against Leeds I think Adam Armstrong would be the first on the list, he was superb on making the first goal and during the game buzzed about, strikers are based on confidence and he seems to be getting that judging by the game last Saturday.

Che Adams doesn't appear to be in confident form, he seems to be a player caught in limbo, he is trying his hardest, but his future is uncertain, if Saints were to sign another striker then I think he would be allowed to go, if we don't then he stays.

This must be difficult to comprehend, he needs to know where he will be playing for the rest of the season and only when the transfer window shuts will he know that, he should be congratulated that he has been professional and puta shift in rather than sulked.

So if we play Adam Armstrong, do we start with Adams who knows how to work a back line, create space with off the ball running or do we plunger in Mara whom we know little about. His cameo role and sublime pass suggested good things, but he needs to be brought into the side slowly rather than thrown in.

I remember three years ago a new signing sat out the first game, made a brief appearance in the second as a sub and then in the third scored a wonder goal two minutes after coming on and then added to that with a goal in his full debut in his 4th game, the fans were salivating and proclaiming him the new goalscoring sensation, do you remember his name ?

Conversely will Ralph render this entire preview redundant by playing 4-4-2.

So my predicted line up for 3-2-3-2 is:

Bazunu

Bella-Kotchap, Bednarek, Salisu

Walker Peters, Djenepo

JWP Lavia

Aribo

A Armstrong Adams.

If Ralph does go for 4-4-2

Bazunu

Valery , Bella - Kotchap Salisu, Walker Peters

S Armstrong, JWP Lavia , Djenepo

A Armstrong Adams

As you can see the personnel is different for a different formation, going to 4-4-2 causes position issues, we have no left back, so we would have to switch KWP & bring in Valery, in midfield we would lose Aribo but the reshuffle would bring in Stuart Armstrong.

There are those who have criticised the line up used in the opening games as being 5 -3-2 ie 5 at the back and defensive, but I see it as more attacking than the 4-4-2 line up given the personnel that we have, in essence it is not 5-3-2, but 3 at the back, two wingbacks who forage forward more and almost an extra striker with the man sitting in front of the holding midfielders.

Leicester themselves have not had a good start to the season, they started by throwing away a 2-0 lead against Brentford and then followed it up by getting tanked 4-2 in North London against Arsenal.

There are many similarities to our opening two games, only that we showed character in coming back from 2-0 down rather than throwing that lead away.

But Brendon Rodgers has let his squad grow old, Kasper Schmeichel has now gone and they have gone to their back up keeper Danny Ward, the Welshman has won caps for his country, 26 of them to be exact, but at 29 he has barely played first team football, his only real experience came in two seasons, the first in 2015/16 when he was at loan at Aberdeen and then in 2016/17 when he played on loan at Huddersfield in their promotion season.

Since then he has stagnated and his game against Arsenal was only his 3rd Premier League game for the club, the first being back in May and indeed these 3 games aside he hadn't played another League game for over 5 years.

Shades of Alex McCarthy here, clearly a talented keeper but has not made the transition from back up to being a first choice for some reason, he made errors at Arsenal and this is what Saints have to capitalise on at the King Power, a defence that is ageing and has some disruption in it, Johnny Evans is 34 and Wesley Fofana has his head turned by Chelsea with Brendan Rodgers even having to deny that the player has asked to leave the club.

Leicester have done little business in the transfer market, but they have lost their talisman in goal, the first time Kasper Schmeichel hasn't started a season for them in 11 years.

With Jamie Vardy turning 36 in January, Brendon Rodgers has a squad that is not as good as it was, too many players grew old and there isn't the transfer money to replace them as they leave cheaply or for free.

Leicester are in decline and we have to make sure that continues whilst they are in a little disarray, for 80 minutes of the game last season we competed with them, before letting in two soft late goals, we are a better squad now, they are not, we have to make it count.

So going to Leicester isn't the daunting trip it once was, although to be fair we had a decent record there over the past 6 years or so, let's go and get something there and build on the foundations from those last 20 minutes against Leeds.

Photo: Action Images

StAnt added 11:10 - Aug 19 You say Leicester are in decline, the keeper is dodgy, Evans is too old and Fofana distracted yet you opt for 5 at the back. If they are in decline why not have a go at them and play the formation that finished against Leeds. After all, that kept a clean sheet and scored two goals. You claim had we started with this formation we might have found ourselves two goals down at half time - to turn that around we might have found ourselves two goals up at half time, full of confidence and flying. Play to your strengths instead of being passive and worrying too much about the opposition. That said I think Ralph being Ralph he will again start with five at the back and change it when it's too late - we won't often come back from two goals down.

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Fordy added 12:36 - Aug 19 Unfortunately, with Perraud out we're almost certain to play 5 at the back. Ralph doesn't seem to trust Valery at RB and there aren't many other options. Hopefully we can go back to 4 at the back for the United game and put some pressure on their shaky defence.
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halftimeorange added 12:50 - Aug 19 Vardy might be 36 but, I wish he was in our side instead of playing against us.
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Kenm added 12:53 - Aug 19 I would like to go with the finishing line up over Leeds !, that line up with the new signings showed good determination to play well and claw back a 2 goal deficit !, but the ball is now in Ralph's court ?, our away record is bad ?, so it's down to him to put that right ?, get it right ?, and make the right decisions from now on he may be able to save his JOB ?
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saintmark1976 added 12:59 - Aug 19 Nick, your extremely long article giving every permutation of playing style and players who may or may not be chosen, just shows us everything that is wrong with Ralph. After three and a bit seasons he still doesn’t know what his best formation or team is. Football is a simple game, yet week after week Ralph tinkers with the team selection and the way we play. His constant meddling has contributed massively to why we have only won a single Premiership match in the last fifteen attempts. Ralph will never provide a solution to the problem because, put simply, he is the problem.

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beynali73 added 13:14 - Aug 19 Expect the unexpected. As we are still short in quality in important areas with a manager who seemingly makes team selections in a silo a draw will be acceptable. However as we have fallen behind the likes of Brighton, Wolves, Newcastle and Aston Villa in terms of buying power and pragmatic strategy are we replying on beating the new teams and the odd shock result to get points this season. In which case that's around 25 pts max. Ralph got the selection wrong (again) in the last two games, we've conceded 6 goals in two games and scored 3 (an aggregate of 1-3 which I guess is our average score) and this is considered to be an improvement? The error of judgement is small so therefore rather than returning to losing formation of 5 at the back it would make sense to go for a back 4 tomorrow and pressure and aging team (as has been pointed out). If it fails nothing has been lost as Ralphs plan A has constantly cost us. I fully expect 5 at the back though. Not panicing - more resigned.

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WestSussexSaint added 14:15 - Aug 19 I said it before the Leeds game that these young players are so much better when we are on the front foot and positive. Eventually that was proven right when the tactics and team changed out of necessity on 70 mins. Leicester are probably at their weakest since before they won the PL so I think they are there for the taking. So I hope Ralph is positive in team selection and tactics - for me that is back to the 4222.

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wessexman added 14:26 - Aug 19 As long as there is " lax " defending at the back, we can opine all we like......nothing will change.
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I_would added 14:57 - Aug 19 We can't play five at the back. We haven't got the players. We don't know how to do it without making the opposition's entire team on side. This is quite often JB's fault as he is a liability and should never play again, especially after the tantrum in the last game when he was correctly subbed although it was much later than it should have been. As has already been said, Ralph should play the team that left the pitch against Leeds as the team must be sick and tired of wondering how Ralph's latest tinker tombola starting line-up is going to perform. If Ralph plays two CB's, no Elyounousi or likewise joke choices, we have a chance because the other coaches would have obviously cut through Ralph's go-it-alone arrogance. If not the we're 18th in the relegation odds (6/4) and unless Ralph backs down and admits his short-comings and let's the other coaches have a say we may be in deep trouble by Xmas.

1

SAINTSNIL added 15:26 - Aug 19 We all know that one team will gain their first win of the season...afraid it won't be us.☹️
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AmericanSaint added 16:38 - Aug 19 I think we need to play a 4-4-2 or 4-2-2-2. With Vardy's speed and clinical finish we can cant give him opportunities. We need to clog the middle and not let them pass through it and the back-5 formation does not do this. Nick, I think you sold Che short on what he did the last game. He was key on the first goal and did better than anyone else in holding up the ball, which is what we need as we have not developed a good counter attack. I think Mo needs to sit and Aribo should get a start. It all comes down to RH, if he wants to be cautious and defensive or put them on the back foot. I personally think that if RH picks to be cautious and does a back 5 then should it not work out, he has lost the plot and we need to start looking for a new manager. Sorry, but this will show that he is incapable of of changing his tactics from week to week and in the PL, you need to be tactically astute and not married to one formation. I think this will end in a tie, but hope we can get things to click and get our first win. COYR

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darthvader added 17:09 - Aug 19 Forfana is not playing. My personal veiw is to go for a more attacking formation and tactics, we can't defend but we look good going foward in numbers .
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SaintPaulVW added 22:18 - Aug 19 I think we've got a good chance of getting something out of this game. However, we need to play with 4 at the back though to take a duff defender off, Bednarek - no leader and probably off anyway, and replace with an attacking player. Arma looked good in a wide position. I'd start with Armstrong and Adams up front. COYR
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Block8 added 10:05 - Aug 20 So you are playing in a back three, the bloke on your left is playing like a complete melt is responsible for the two goals you have conceded & you get hooked. Maybe a little tantrum as you call it is merited, what do you think? Aribo is more than capable of playing wide in a four as he did many times for Rangers and I think Adams is the victim of one up front and no service, he was a different player when supported. Play both him & Adam Armstrong and get JWP to release the ball (forward) quicker and more often, we might see a bit more from them both if we help them more!

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Peterx added 12:16 - Aug 20 I think with 5 subs the game has changed, start with a back 3 and then go to a back 4 with 5 mins to play in the first half with 5 mins to go, that way we don’t punch ourselves out which has been the problem for the last two seasons.
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City_boy added 12:54 - Aug 20 Nick, you call it 3-2 , no matter how you dress it up, the suggestion is a back 5, which we all know does not work. I really hope RH doesn't revert to this again today.
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