Southampton will have been grateful for a free week leading up to this weekend’s clash with Watford following last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Cardiff City, with a number of players showing signs of fatigue in the second half.
The likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Stuart Armstrong in particular looked like a well-deserved rest was needed and, with a busy festive period ahead, Russell Martin will have appreciated having some time on the Staplewood training pitch.
After a week to prepare, Martin takes his side to Vicarage Road for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday as fourth-place Southampton take on tenth-place Watford. Valerien Ismael’s side suffered a poor start to the season but now sit just three points off of the playoffs.
Southampton will have to be at their best if they are to extend their current unbeaten run to 12 games, with Watford themselves having not tasted defeat in the last nine.
What team will Russell Martin select v Watford?
Martin has some decisions to make, with Ross Stewart and Kamaldeen Sulemana the only senior players expected to miss this one through injury.
Since Sulemana’s injury in the first half of the Saints’ 1-0 win against Bristol City, Southampton have changed their shape from their usual 4-3-3 to something of a 4-4-2 diamond. This has seen a reprieve for striker Che Adams who has played alongside Adam Armstrong, despite growing expectation that he will leave the club in January.
Martin has confirmed that club captain Jack Stephens will be back in the squad for the first time since picking up an injury in the fourth game of the season but has suggested it will be Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jan Bednarek lining up as the central defensive partnership, with Stephens having to wait for his chance.
Will Smallbone is also back in contention, but may also have to bide his time with Shea Charles deputising well in the past two games.
Watford will provide a stern test and Martin may be wise to stick with the winning formula, particularly given how impressive his Southampton side were in last Saturday’s win over Cardiff. Therefore, this is how we predict Southampton will line up at Vicarage Road:
Predicted Southampton XI (4-4-2 diamond): Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Manning; Downes, Charles, S. Armstrong, Alcaraz; A. Armstrong, Adams