Southampton have the chance to shift their attention away from their poor Premier League campaign when they take on Everton in the third round of the Carabao Cup. The Saints were beaten soundly by Wolves in their last game and haven’t scored since their 2-2 draw with Liverpool more than a week ago.
Mark Hughes is under quite a lot of pressure and perhaps a good cup run can help ease some of the heat. It’s not going to get any easier, though, as Everton have a good squad and even their second string side will provide a stern test.
Southampton do have a decent head to head record against Everton. In the last five games between the two sides, there has been one draw and two wins for each side, so expect a tightly fought contest come Tuesday.
Mark Hughes has called for more clinical performances at both ends of the pitch and the sooner the Saints manage that, the better. They can’t afford to lose their concentration in a cup game as one wrong move could result in elimination.
Predicted Southampton Lineup
Defence
We could see a few changes at the back. Jannik Vestergaard could be given a rest and be replaced with Maya Yoshida. The Japanese has played alongside Wesley Hoedt before and the two will start at the heart of the defence.
Matt Target could get a run out in the left-back position but Soares could keep his place on the right owing to the lack of real options. The Portuguese could be up against the agile Ademola Lookman, so he’ll have to be wary of the pace.
We tend to see the second choice ‘keeper in the Cup and Angus Gunn could replace McCarthy in goal.
Midfield
Mario Lemina had a disappointing outing against Wolves and he is likely to be replaced by Oriol Romeu. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg offered a bit of creativity and he’s perhaps the best hope of maybe pulling something off against the Toffees. He should start in midfield.
We could see Hughes ditching the 4-4-2 for the 4-2-3-1 setup which could mean Stuart Armstrong getting an advanced role of playing as a number 10.
Attack
Danny Ings has done well at his new club and he does have a good record against Everton, so expect him to lead the line. Manolo Gabbiadini will have to wait for his chance as he could again be on the bench. Nathan Redmond and Mohamed Elyounoussi are expected to start on the wide areas.
There’s a chance that Leighton Baines might start, so Elyounoussi will have the opportunity to use his pace and stretch the play.
Ings
Redmond – Armstrong – Elyounoussi
Hojbjerg – Romeu
Targett – Hoedt – Yoshida – Soares
Gunn
