The new season is upon us and Dan carry's on where he left off last year by bringing us his previews ahead of each game.
The Premier League is back! Saints face Watford at home in the first game of the new campaign and also Claude Puel’s first game in the Premier League. Claude Puel went out on Thursday to meet the English press for the first time.
Ryan Bertrand is still the only casualty for this weekend and won’t be able to take part which is a shame but luckily he’s the only player with an injury.
However, Cedric and Jose Fonte will have to prove the can play on the weekend after being back in training for only two weeks and playing 45 minutes of game time each in the match against Athletic Bilbao.
Only looking at results, it seems that Watford haven’t had as successful a pre-season as we have. For a first they didn’t finish their campaign unbeaten. A loss to QPR was an unexpected result for them but they’ve also had a few wins and a few draws. They also have a new manager, Walter Mazzari, who’s an outsider to managing in the Premier League.
My Prediction:
It’s the first day of the season so there are few results to show how the game can go. All we can base the game on now is last season and pre-season where we are on top in both. I think we’ll win 2-0 but wouldn’t be surprised with a draw and would be content with a point at the beginning of the season. However, against a team like Watford, who are talked about when relegation is the topic, maximum points are needed no matter the point in the season.
My line-up:
Forster, Cedric, Van Dijk, Fonte, Targett, Højbjerg, Romeu, Tadic, Redmond, Long, Austin
Cedric and Fonte are so crucial I think they will play if ready and two weeks of training and 45 minutes of match-time should be enough for them to be ready. Whether Puel plays with the 4-4-2 diamond I don’t know but these players can fit into that formation. Højbjerg and Redmond have been so impressive I would like them to play the majority of the game.