news-engine

Eckert named one fitness doubt this week and it was Caspar Jander. Everybody else is fit, which is a lovely problem and a horrible one. Because when the whole squad is available, leaving somebody out becomes a decision rather than an excuse. The eight names that pick themselves Daniel Peretz starts. His loan was made permanent in the summer. If you want the clearest sign of the pecking order, Aaron Ramsdale spent last week playing for the under-21s and did not make the matchday squad. The back four picks itself too, more or less. James Bree at right-back is the interesting one, given Mads Roerslev is available and was signed to own that shirt before injury wrecked his first season. Bree came back early from his loan at Charlton Athletic, steadied a problem position, then signed fresh terms, so the shirt is his to lose. Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jack Stephens continue in the middle, Benfica bid or no Benfica bid. Ryan Manning or Welington on the left is closer than most fans admit. Welington is the quicker and stronger of the pair and the one who gives Eckert a proper overlap. Manning's set-piece delivery, aligned to the fact that he was Southampton's best player at Colchester, might just sway the decision in his favour. Flynn Downes anchors the midfield. Nobody is arguing. Leo Scienza is nailed on out wide. Lewis Dobbin has looked sharp through pre-season and can fill in almost anywhere across the front, which makes him difficult to leave out of any eleven. The three calls Eckert has to get right First, Downes needs a partner. Kuryu Matsuki did that job at Colchester United last weekend without it ever looking like his position, and Cameron Bragg is the alternative sitting there waiting. Second, the number ten. Finn Azaz was the man who made Saints tick last season and he changed the game at Colchester in fifteen minutes, but that was his first football since May. Ninety minutes at Vicarage Road is asking a lot of him this early. Dobbin slots in there instead, with Azaz saved for the hour mark when Watford legs are gone. Third, the striker. This is where it gets fun. Cyle Larin, Divin Mubama, Ben Brereton Diaz, Damion Downs and Cameron Archer are all fit and all wanting the shirt. Saints Marching has picked over who Eckert might drop from the cup side. Mubama gets the nod here. He had a full pre-season with Manchester City and scored twice in it, while Larin has played one hour of football since the World Cup. So the eleven is Peretz; Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Stephens, Welington; Bragg, Downes; Scienza, Dobbin, Fellows; Mubama. Saints Marching went through a similar exercise for the Colchester cup tie and the shape has barely moved. Get those three calls right and the bench wins the last twenty minutes.