Saints look to get their first Premier League win of the season when they take on Swansea City at St Mary's on Sunday afternoon.

Claude Puel showed on Thursday evening that he has a big squad and that he is not afraid to use it, and as a sign of the headache he has in keeping everyone happy in it, the starting line up saw only Charlie Austin, Oriol Romeu, JWP & Matt Targett not full internationals, with the bench having all the outfield players full caps bar Nathan Redmond and that still didnt include Cedric Soares and new signing Sofiane Boufal.

So the headache for Puel for the Swansea game will be just who is in the starting line up and who is out.

The difficulty for him will be that all of the starting line up played well and deserve to start on merit, however that will not be possible.

Puel has showed in his first games in charge that he is willing to change and adapt depending on the opposition and he is well aware that with so many games coming thick and fast between now and Christmas he has to male sure players stay fresh and fit.

I would think that the back four would revert to Soares, Fonte, VVD & Ryan Bertrand, that is harsh on Martina and Targett, both of whom had good games on Thursday, but it is the strongest line up along the back line.

The centre of midfield is more difficult, Puel has some good players there, all of whom are worth a place in the starting line up on their own merits, I would think Oriol Romeu should be nailed on given he has been our best player over the last two games overall and Steven Davis should be as well as he is Mr Consistent and brings something to the side that many fans don't always see.

After that it is a little more difficult, Clasie, JWP & Hojbjerg all are quality in their own ways, for me though it has got to be Hojbjerg who gets the nod.

Then it gets hard, Austin and Rodriguez are both scoring and Long always brings hard work to the party and then there is Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond to fit in.

I think Tadic and Redmond should get the nod and play Charlie Austin up front, he is not as mobile as the other options, but he is hungry for goals and having hit a couple of Thursday wants more.

I think though Puel will return him to the bench and use Shane Long.

But it is good to see the options that the manager has and more importantly that he seems to have the tactical nous to use them all and use them in different ways and against Sparta he started to win over a sceptic or two.

Now he needs to win over a few more and the way to do that is to beat Swansea and beat them well, I have never subscribed to the view that we lack firepower up front, we have the players who can score goals, it is all about utilising them to not only the best of their ability but the way that the team is playing.

There can be no issues about tiredness after Europe, we have had plenty of rest and probably well over half the team that starts against the Swans will have played little or no part in the Sparta Prague game.

Saints do need to win this game though, if this season is to be successful then Claude Puel needs to win the fans over, he made a start on that on Thursday and on Sunday he needs to make another big leap forward by winning our first game of the Premier League season and making the table look a lot better.

Photo: Action Images

Bettwsresident added 10:03 - Sep 17 Charlie Austin showed on Thursday what we have been missing so badly. 4 shots (including the disallowed goal) all 4 on target, 3 went in. He has to start. Long can come on and stretch tired legs for last half hour.
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perazi added 10:19 - Sep 17 Nick - can you tell me what qualities JWP brings to our midfield. Are you seriously considering a difficult decision between selecting him or Hojbjerg?
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andywelsh added 10:58 - Sep 17 JWP is one of those players who do quite a lot without being noticed. He tackles, tracks players and distributes the ball well. He is extremely highly regarded and is Captain of England U21 which I think also says a lot about his character. He is also one of the best dead ball deliverers in the premiership. Appreciate him while you can as big offers will inevitably come in for him in the future.

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perazi added 11:21 - Sep 17 Andywelsh There's two things I can say with confidence about Prowsey. He doesn't have a tackling technique and it's very unlikely a big offer will come in for him. He can deliver a decent dead ball though.
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ExiledSupporter added 12:21 - Sep 17 Nick, you continue to do a disservice to those, including me, who have argued consistently that we should have signed another striker (Haller, for instance), the danger is that two of the players, Austin and JRod, who in the past have both been proven goalscorers have shown little consistent form and are both prone to bouts of injury while Long for all his undoubted qualities converts relatively few of the goal opportunities that come his way. Having lost Pelle and Mane who delivered about 50% of our goals last season relying on two players who I really want to succeed but have realistic worries about potentially leaves us somewhat toothless unless others step up. Primarily this means Boufal, Tadic and Redwood - the latter two do not have a glorious record of consistent scoring in the EPL. Let's hope you are right and I and many others are wrong, time will tell. Importantly I do not blame Puel for any of this, though I remain sceptical about the utility and sustainability of his diamond system in the EPL, not least because it doesn't give enough cover to a defence that needs to be at its best every match and may not be if either of the centre backs picks up an injury and we have to play Yoshida. Few of the teams that we meet every week are going to be a docile and uncommitted as Sparta Prague.

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SanMarco added 12:44 - Sep 17 A bit soon for " Austin and Rodriguez are both scoring" to be an authoratative statement even if it is factually correct. The majority of supporters would agree with Exiled over the goalscorer. I am probably even more worried about the defence. There will come a time when BOTH VVD and Fonte are out. My Dad texted me during the Sparta match to say 2-0 and going well. I responded with "remember we haven't had Yoshida's balls up yet". Five seconds after I pressed send came that back pass. It is defensive lapses that have cost us as much as goalscoring problems so far. Good defending could have led to two 1-0 wins and a 0-0 at Manure. Arsenal is irrelevant due to the ref....

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steve73 added 15:50 - Sep 17 Yet another article telling us we've never had it so good; it's getting a bit tiresome. Mocking people for missing Mane and Pelle is ridiculous. Continuously extolling the virtues of our squad without acknowledging it's shortcomings makes for one frustrating read after another and makes you look a bit silly. Getting behind the team is great but I see no harm in discussing it's weaknesses so long as it doesn't become counterproductive and nasty. I enjoyed Thursday's win but Prague were no great shakes, the performance and result against Swansea will tell us a lot more about where we are and what we can expect for the season. I'm thinking a tense, single goal win for us.

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halftimeorange added 10:06 - Sep 18 If he is fit I'd give Martina a turn in front of Cedric. He proved on Thursday that he's quick and can cross a ball. Just what Austin or Rodriguez need (and aren't getting from others).
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