Southampton begin their FA Cup campaign on Saturday as they welcome Walsall to St Mary’s.
Walsall are sat in 11th in League Two but will be confident having won three league games in a row, including a 6-1 win win over Grimsby Town last weekend.
Southampton will be wary of their opponents given that they exited last season’s FA Cup to Grimsby, as well as losing to League Two opposition in this season’s Carabao Cup at the hands of Gillingham.
Whilst Russell Martin will be mindful of avoiding another embarrassing cup exit, he will see this game as an opportunity to rest some of his key players and take a look at some of the players who have been on the periphery this season.
The meeting with Walsall could also represent a massive opportunity for some talented youth team players to show they can perform at senior level.
What team will Russell Martin pick against Walsall?
The team that Martin picks is likely to be a mixture of youth and experienced players who have not played as much as they would have liked this season.
In terms of injury news, James Bree is expected to again miss out through the injury he sustained against QPR before Christmas, whilst long-term absentees Kamaldeen Sulemana and Ross Stewart remain out. Martin has also confirmed that winger Sam Edozie will be out until February with the ankle injury that forced him off against Norwich City last time out.
In goal, Martin will likely give summer arrival Joe Lumley his Southampton debut, as first choice goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu makes way.
Jack Stephens should step up his return from injury with a start, whilst Mason Holgate is expected to return from the injury that kept him out the squad to make this one despite uncertainty regarding whether he will return to parent club Everton this month.
Holgate may come in to give Kyle Walker-Peters a rest, with the right-back playing every Championship minute this season and impressing on a weekly basis. With Southampton lacking depth at full-back, expect Ryan Manning to also be rested which could mean that 17-year-old academy product Jayden Meghoma gets his chance at left-back.
In midfield, Flynn Downes will be rested given his struggles with illness recently and Shea Charles should deputise as the deepest midfielder. Walsall will try and make it difficult for Southampton in the middle of the pitch so Martin could opt to play Will Smallbone and Carlos Alcaraz alongside Charles, the latter unlucky not to start against Norwich after a strong display and goal in the previous game against Plymouth Argyle.
On the right of the front three, another 17-year-old should get his opportunity in exciting winger Sam Amo-Ameyaw. The tricky left-footed speedster featured in three of the first four league games of the season but has not played since. With Edozie’s injury, a good display in the cup could see Amo-Ameyaw feature more regularly over the next month.
On the left wing, Martin may opt to sprinkle in some experience with loanee Ryan Fraser. This would be sensible given the inexperience of Meghoma at left-back and Fraser is a winger who will not neglect his defensive work and leave the young full-back exposed.
13 goal club top goalscorer Adam Armstrong is likely to be given a well-earned rest, so the central striker spot should be occupied by Sekou Mara. The French striker has struggled to get into the side this season but has shown glimpses of quality in a couple of impressive cameos off the bench recently. The next step is for Mara to make his mark from the start of a game and a tie against League Two opposition should be the perfect game for him to stake his claim.
Tyler Dibling is another youth product who will be involved on Saturday, but he may have to settle for a spot on the bench from the start. With a heavily rotated side expected, here is how we predict Southampton will line up against Walsall on Saturday:
(4-3-3): Lumley; Holgate, Harwood-Bellis, Stephens, Meghoma; Charles, Smallbone, Alcaraz; Amo-Ameyaw, Mara, Fraser