Southampton are travelling to the Hawthorns Stadium for their Premier League fixture against West Brom on Saturday. The Saints are on a 12-game winless streak in the league and are currently staged at the 18th spot of the points table. They have not registered a single win since their 4-1 result against Everton on 26th November. The fans were left in despair after a visiting Crystal Palace ran away with 3 points in the last fixture seeing the club match points with Stoke City in the relegation zone.
Haunted by their uncertain Premier League fixture, Pellegrino might not employ all his best. But after suffering a heavy defensive loss in Virgil van Dijk, Pellegrino’s problems are compounded by the absence of a few key players.
West Brom have also surpassed expectations in recent weeks and even beat Liverpool, 3-2 at Anfield in the FA Cup. West Brom are 6/4 favourites to win this Premier League match. Southampton are 2/1 for the victory.
Pellegrino is expected to field his men in the 4-2-3-1 formation.
Defence
After appearing for 76 consecutive matches for the club, Fraser Forster was dropped from the starting XI in the fixture against Manchester United on 31 December. No reasons were pointed out and Alex McCarthy replaced him in between the sticks. The 28-year-old has been solid in between the sticks and should get the nod for this fixture to appear in front of the Southampton goal.
Cedric Soares has returned from his injury and is expected to resume his duties on the right-back position.
Jack Stephens and Wesley Hoedt are the top picks to pair up in the centre-back roles.
Ryan Bertrand might provide cover from the left. He is good on both ends of the pitch and will provide the team’s attack with some width.
Midfield
Oriel Romeu might be paired up with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in the defensive midfield position.
Sofiane Boufal is eager to make his name known and should get the nod on the left wing with Dusan Tadic on the right.
Steven Davis might make a return to the attacking midfield-position and James Ward-Prowse can expect a late call-up if required.
Attack
Now that Guido Carrillo has arrived, he might the get the call-up to lead the line from the front. He is expected to hit the ground running in order to save Southampton’s campaign.
