Southampton v Sunderland
Wednesday 26 October
St Mary’s Stadium
Premier League
7.45pm
Southampton
Goalkeepers: Alex McCarthy, 26, signed for Saints in the summer and he’s likely to face Sunderland on Wednesday evening. The stopper started against Crystal Palace in the third round, making his debut against the Eagles after making seven appearances for them last season. England international Fraser Forster will be on the bench.
Defence: Southampton’s defence contains two Euro 2016 winners – Jose Fonte and Cedric Soares – and both are expected to feature against the Black Cats. The duo featured as Portugal defeated France in the showpiece final with captain Fonte, who has made over 250 for Saints, linked with a move to Manchester United and Arsenal in the current transfer window. Cedric, 24, signed from Sporting CP in 2015 making 24 league appearances during his debut campaign. Maya Yoshida and Matt Targett have both featured in the Premier League this season with Ryan Bertrand pushing for a recall after missing the start of the campaign due to injury. Sunderland fans will also remember Virgil van Dijk who netted a late equaliser in last season’s fixture at St Mary’s.
Midfield: Steven Davis, Oriol Romeu, Dusan Tadic, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Nathan Redmond have played prominent roles during the early stages of the 2015-16 season. Davis, 31, is now in his fifth season with the club and he led Northern Ireland during their impressive Euro 2016 campaign, with Romeu aiming to build on a steady first year with Saints after moving from Chelsea in 2015. Hojbjerg is certainly one to watch with big things expected from the midfielder following a summer move from Bayern Munich, and the same can be said of England under-21 winger Redmond who has made an impressive start to his Saints career. Tadic loves to get forward and will pose a constant threat scoring 12 goals in 66 leagues appearances during his first two years at St Mary’s. Jake Hesketh and Harrison Reed both featured against Palace and could play a part.
Attack: Southampton lost Sadio Mane, Graziano Pelle and Jaunmi during the summer but their attacking options are far from depleted. Shane Long – international team-mate of John O’Shea –led the line during the opening stages of the season, but Charlie Austin has come to the fore in recent weeks with Long sidelined. Jay Rodriguez, who scored against the Black Cats earlier this season, and Sofiane Boufal will be hoping to start and impress their manager.
Manager: Southampton were forced into a managerial change during the summer after Everton snapped up Ronald Koeman, with Claude Puel moving to St Mary’s following a four-year spell with Nice. The former Monaco midfielder made over 500 appearances for the club as a player winning two league titles and three French Cups, with a move into management with the principality club coming in 1999. He won the league title during his first season before moving to Lille where he spent six years, with spells with Lyon and Nice preceding his arrival on the south coast.
Team news
Southampton
Ryan Bertrand, Cedric Soares, Matt Targett and Shane Long are expected to miss out.
Sunderland
Fabio Borini, Vito Mannone, Seb Larsson, Lee Cattermole, Jason Denayer, Adnan Januzaj and Jan Kirchhoff are once again unavailable, with David Moyes aiming to rest a number of senior players.
Last time out
Manchester City 1-1 Southampton
Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League despite seeing their winless streak extend to a fifth game as Southampton earned a deserved draw.
The visitors led when John Stones' sloppy pass allowed Nathan Redmond to round Claudio Bravo and slot in.
City improved after being booed off by some home fans at the break, equalising when half-time substitute Kelechi Iheanacho prodded in Leroy Sane's low cross.
Pep Guardiola's side controlled the second half as they searched for a winner, but Saints keeper Fraser Forster produced splendid saves to deny Ilkay Gundogan and David Silva.
West Ham United 1-0 Sunderland
Sunderland suffered heartbreak at the London Stadium as Winston Reid secured three points for West Ham United with the penultimate kick of the game.
Michail Antonio and Dimitri Payet led the charge for the Hammers who went close on countless occasions during the opening 25 minutes, but from that point forward they were unable to find a way past the Black Cats.
England under-21 international Jordan Pickford starred for the Black Cats, producing a brilliant save to deny Payet, who also struck the post, as he went within seconds of a first senior clean sheet.
Wahbi Khazrri spurned Sunderland’s best chance as David Moyes’ side raced out of the blocks following the restart, and they were punished so, so late as their resilient defences were finally breached by Reid in added time.
Form (2016-17 only)
Sunderland: LLDLLLDLL
Southampton: LDLDWWDWD