Saints take on Chelsea at St Mary's this evening, looking to build on the last few games and move themselves up the table, what will Ralph Hasenhuttl have up his sleeve.

With 3 games in a week Ralph Hasenhuttl might be considering a change or two from the team that started against Manchester United, I would certainly think that Stuart Adams could be one of the players coming in with Moi Elyounoussi being the one to make way.

Another starter could be Sekou Mara who could replace anyone of three of the attacking players, Joe Aribo, Adam Armstrong or even Che Adams could be rested to bring Mara into the side.

Out of the three I thought Adam Armstrong had the best game against United and would be the one would have the most reason to be aggrieved, however I think he is the more likely to be the one to make way.

A third potential change could be Romain Perraud at left back, although Djenepo had a decent game on Saturday going forward, he is not a natural left back and positionally he is learning on the job, it will be harsh on Djenepo but I can see the benefit of having a dedicated left back in against a team like Chelsea.

Other than these three changes it is hard to see any change Ralph could make that would enhance the side and he will want it to continue the progress it has made, despite the result it was probably a better all round team performance against United than in any of the previous three fixtures this season, the youngsters are learning with every game.

Ralph praised his youngsters in the pre match briefing:

“With the ball they’re so confident and willing to show some good things, sometimes against the ball where you have to be disciplined in our shape, this is something they have to learn.

“They’re very, very open minded and are learning very quick. It’s good to see. Quality and youth is a good combination for getting better.

“When you’re open minded then it’s good for us, the whole staff group, to work with them."

Chelsea for their part have not started the season as well as they hoped they would, they scraped a 1-0 win at Everton, followed by a draw with Spurs in a game that they should have put to bed long before Harry Kane's 90+6 minute equaliser.

Leeds steamrollered them 3-0 at Elland Road in their 3rd game and last time out they struggled to beat Leicester 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, although in fairness they had Conor Gallagher sent off after only 28 minutes and still won despite playing for an hour with only 10 men.

So this won't be an easy evening for Saints, in truth it will be hard to get a result and there is of course the shambolic performance back in April when we capitulated to a 6-0 home defeat which could have been far worse.

Hopefully Ralph has learnt a lesson from that day and will set up as he has done in the last few games with a solid back four, certainly

As Ralph has said this is a young squad, it is learning as it goes along, but there are plenty of signs that it can be a good squad, it is pleasing that 5 of the 6 signings made in the summer have shown that they can play at this level already and they will only get better as the season goes on, we have to be patient in what the club is doing, it was never going to be an easy start but we are up and running, a defeat tonight would be disappointing, but it is really about the bigger picture going forward.

Photo: Action Images

TimSaint added 14:06 - Aug 30 Thankfully Timo Werner has left Chelsea, as his scoring record is phenomenal - bizarrely ONLY against Saints though !! If we sit back and let them play like last season, we will get a similar result, but I think with the new arrivals and new coaching staff, we will be a different prospect tonight. KWP will have Stirling in his pocket, after doing such a good job on Sancho at the weekend. JWP will keep Skate Mount quiet and hopefully Che can get his scoring boots back on. We have only won 1 in our last 8 home games (3 wins from our last 20 midweek games), so it's about time we turned it around. We could do with a clean sheet for once as well, as I think that is something like 1 in 15 or 16. Finally we are due some luck and a VAR decision to go our way. 2 blatant handball incidents v Leicester and Man U waived away, so 3rd time lucky tonight please !! We can definitely get something out of this one and hopefully draw inspiration from the Leeds demolition of Chelsea the other week.

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Block8 added 14:10 - Aug 30 Possibly Stu on the right with Mara playing just behind Che, think we need to continue with AA while he is showing such good form. Perhaps a goal against Chelsea will kick start his scoring. Chelsea are strong down their right so Perraud should return. Chelsea have been very good on the ball this season but are struggling to score, so lets not think this is a weaker Chelsea than normal. Play the same system and be aggressive!

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DellBoyWally added 14:37 - Aug 30 Who's this Stuart Adams we've signed; missed that one!! I'd be inclined to bring Che Armstrong in!! Agree Stuey for Moi; Perraud for Moussa. Bring him on later for AdamA who should start with CheA. Mara and Aribo are the starter and sub, either way round. Rest of the team picks itself. Could be some anger after the MU game; out to prove a point. With a top-level performance and some defensive rigidity we could get something from this. Probably a questionable VAR-reviewed penalty against us!! A goal or two early doors and we could take 3 points. 0-0 at half time and I can see another 0-1 loss

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landsdownsaint added 16:25 - Aug 30 Healthy signs of Moussa is dropped for Perraud , meaning Perraud really has got too perform coz Moussa been great in that position… tough one for Ralph
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davidargyll added 17:24 - Aug 30 Last seasons game showed us how superb Chelsea were then, and yes we were given the run around but by a superior team, no question. Now though they just don’t seem - so far at any rate - to have hit those heights. We though are a million times better this season and even if they do try and turn it on against us tonight, I’m quietly confident…
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bornonthemiltonroad added 18:25 - Aug 30 How about Perraud in at left back and push Moussa forward on the left? Stuey on the right with Che up top and Mara behind? Aribo off the bench for impact.
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