Southampton face Spurs in the FA Cup Fourth-Round tomorrow and will fancy their chances of progressing to the next round.
They overcame Huddersfield Town in the previous round, with goals from academy products Will Smallbone and Jake Vokins giving Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side a 2-0 win.
The strength of tomorrow’s opponents may mean that more senior players start the game, but places on the bench may be a good reward for the heroes of the last round.
A couple of injuries also have cropped up recently and could change the starting 11 that is seen.
Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard and Cedric are set to be unavailable on Saturday — meaning that opportunities will arise for others to prove their worth.
Here are five players who should start in Saints’ Fourth-Round tie:
Sofiane Boufal
Some bright bursts of skill and trickery saw Boufal create a positive impression when he first arrived back in St Mary’s at the start of this season.
However, it is fair to say that he hasn’t had the best of spells recently after coming back from a toe injury and now seeing other players ahead of him in the pecking order.
The Moroccan has had just one start in the league since September but could be given a place in the starting 11 this weekend given that Saints played a tough game on Tuesday.
Having not really taken his chance against Huddersfield in the previous round, it’ll be vital for his prospective starting prospects he impresses and puts in a good attacking performance tomorrow.
Maya Yoshida
Yoshida began the win over Huddersfield Town in the last round of the FA Cup but has dropped out of this first-choice 11 that is favoured by Ralph Hasenhuttl currently.
Squad rotation and harms should see the Japanese international back in contention tomorrow, however.
The two Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek are set to be ruled out through injury, whilst Cedric could be out for about three weeks with a knee complaint.
Therefore, Yoshida might be necessary to slot into the centre of defence alongside Jack Stephens.
Kevin Danso
Whilst Danso is still only young and remains very raw as a guardian, his loan spell with Saints hasn’t been too fruitful just yet.
He’s started only six games, with one of those being the 2-0 victory over Huddersfield in the FA Cup Third-Round.
Like Yoshida, accidents and rotation will likely mean that he gets a place in the starting 11 this time around.
But he could have to fill in at right-back for Cedric with Yan Valery still not match either.
Che Adams
Adams came on for just six minutes of the win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday and hasn’t started a match since the beginning of January.
With Michael Obafemi and Shane Long chosen over Adams and Danny Ings, it appears clear that the latter two will be starting tomorrow.
Ralph Hasenhuttl has rotated his squad nicely whilst confronting the busiest period of the season and Adams, who has been linked with a move to Leeds, has proven his worth.
The striker is still searching for his first competitive goal for Saints, however, so could this come on Saturday?
Moussa Djenepo
Bright cameos have become Djenepo’s thing lately but he will be wanting to show that he can become a starter once again.
The best two moments thus far in a Saints shirt came with his two goals this year — a stunning long-range attack away at Brighton and a superb solo goal in Sheffield United.
The Mali international is arguably the finest one-on-one attacker in the club currently and he’s always eager to get on the ball when he performs.
It would surely be exciting viewing for the St Mary’s audience is Djenepo and Boufal were fielded to face Spurs tomorrow, although Ralph Hasenhuttl may see Nathan Redmond and Stuart Armstrong as more disciplined defensively.
