Saints take on the Potters looking to avenge the defeat in the last regular season home game of last season, Russell Martin has spoken of putting out a strong side for this, one but dare he risk it with two crucial games coming up.
The 1-0 home defeat to Stoke last April was perhaps the day Russell Martin realised that he had to adapt his possession football game or face being beaten in the play offs, back then he adapted, but so far this season he has shown little evidence that he learned his lesson from last season.
He has spoken about how the Carabao Cup is an important part of the season and I can see his point, it can be a catalyst to spark up the season and give confidence to take on Everton and Wolves in the next two games where defeat will see us cast adrift at the bottom.
He has spoken about playing a strong side, in fact he has spoken quite a lot, but what he has not done is produced the results on the pitch and much of that has been about his failings and his stubbornness to stick to his guns, even when it is clear that we do not have the players needed to play this type of game to the level he wants.
Previewing the Stoke game, Martin said:
"I think it's the most important game we've had this season.
"We need to try and win, get to a quarter-final of a cup and we need to build on today [Saturday]. And we'll play the strongest team available to us in terms of fitness and readiness. It's a big, big game for us.
"Definitely won't be 11 changes. There will be some, I think, such is the nature of it and we have two big games after that. But this is the most important one, so we'll play the team that we feel is the most ready to win.”
I am stunned by what Martin has said, if he thinks this is the most important game of the season, then he is deluded, we have already had 9 more important games than this in the Premier League and gained just 1 point, is there a Saints fan out there who thinks this game is more important than the game just 4 days later against Everton ? I would highly surprised if there was.
This highlights the dichotomy of Russell Martin as a manager, this is completely opposite how he treated the competition last season, with a side put out at Gillingham that was a complete change from the one he played in the League and contained youngsters and experienced professionals playing out of position.
At the moment his team selections and substitutions are puzzling and indicate a manager who doesn't really know what to do next and is trying something different every week desperately, hence playing Onuachu & Sulemana ahead of those who are ahead in the pecking order.
So will this game be the wake up call for him ? or will it be another nail in his coffin as Southampton manager.
The first thing that needs to be taken into account though is the number of players who are in danger of getting a suspension for one of the big two games coming up, Martin himself will be sitting in the stands for the visit of Stoke after totting up 3 yellow cards, that in itself isn't a good sign, it shows a manager not in control of his own emotions, most managers don't even get booked once during a season, so to get 3 yellow cards in 9 games is alarming.
Flynn Downes is just one yellow card away from a one game suspension, so I would not expect to see him play tonight, likewise Adam Lallana, Taylor Harwood Bellis & Tyler Dibling are two yellow cards from missing a game, surely we want to make sure that they don't miss the trip to Wolves by getting booked against Stoke and then Everton on Saturday.
So this will mean that he will be far from playing his strongest side in tonight's cup tie, if any of those 4 are in the squad, I would be very worried.
But we can still put out a strong side and one that can beat Stoke, the likes of Charlie Taylor and Ben Brereton Dias and Sam Amo-Ameyaw all played for the Academy side on Friday and could well play tonight, so we can put out an experienced and decent side without risking suspension or for that matter injury to vital players.
I would expect the side to look very much like the one that was put out against Cardiff in the opening game we played in the competition.
Joe Lumley played in goal that game with Alex McCarthy on the bench as this was pre Aaron Ramsdale, you would expect that McCarthy as deputy would play, but you never know with this manager.
In defence I would expect James Bree at right back, then perhaps Ronnie Edwards & Nathan Wood, both experienced at Championship level with Charlie Taylor on the left.
In midfield Lesley Ugochukwu should start with perhaps Will Smallbone if fit and Joe Aribo, I would also think we should play Tall Paul Onuachu up front perhaps flanked by Ben Brereton Dias and either Maxwel Cornet, Kamaldeen Sulemana or Sam Amo Ameyaw.
That would leave a bench that could include some first team regulars such as Adam Armstrong in reserve if needed and a few fringe players and youngsters.
This highlights that we can still put out a strong side and win the game without taking chances, I am hoping that Martin was just trying to confuse the opposition, rather than being serious about playing his strongest side, if he does I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt him if someone gets injured or suspended.