Saints travel up to Stoke with the home side being hit by an injury crisis that could see as many as 8 of their team missing, we arrive their in confident mood after our victory against Leeds, can we capitalise on the situation.

On paper this should be a very winnable game for Southampton, we are buoyed after our 3-1 win at St Mary's against Leeds United on Saturday and Stoke are ravaged by injury, what could go wrong ?

Well as we know in the past, plenty of things, but going into the game we should do so with a new found confidence and a spirit in the squad to start winning games of football by winning a few on the bounce ourselves after our 4 match losing streak.

I would hope that Russell Martin doesn't see too much past the side that started on Saturday, that finally seemed be a formation that gelled, it fine tuned the possession football game to suit not only our players but to best combat the opposition.

I would like to see either no changes to the line up or perhaps just the one, I have a sneaking suspicion that being an away game Russell Martin might just tweak his team and bring in Shea Charles at the expense of Charly Alcatraz, but it is just a suspicion rather than something I am certain he will do.

If he does that it would make some sort of sense, although I am sure that some will point out that with their injury problems and the fact that on Saturday at Bristol City they were 2-0 down after 15 minutes and scraped a last minute winner, that we should be looking to put them to the sword rather than playing it cautious.

But the Potters showed on Saturday that they have a fighting spirit, they could well be without 8 players tonight, indeed two of those limped off on Saturday, but they still fought back from that two goal deficit and ground out a win.

So I would hope that Russell Martin doesn't try to get too clever on this one, with 3 games in a week, there could be a temptation to rest players for Saturday, but personally for me it is take every game as it comes, this is the toughest out of the two games left before the international break and we should look to get this one won, before worrying about Rotherham.

We have a big squad and that sometimes can work against a manager in that he has too many choices and the temptation is to rotate, but after the run we have had, we have to restore confidence and keep a winning run going by getting 3 points on the board in this one.

Hopefully we will start off tonight where we left off on Saturday, that means a disciplined performance where we can soak up pressure when we don't have the ball and go quickly when we do have it.

Against Leeds we seemed to have fine tuned our possession game, we didn't seem to want to pass our way in little triangles up the pitch, Russell Martin seemed to recognise he has players in the side who can beat a man and play a telling through ball or cross, we varied our game and reaped the rewards.

At the other end of the pitch although we still looked a little fragile when we passed the ball out, we also seemed to know when to put it long and that was good to see.

We found on Saturday a balance between the game that Russell Martin want to play and one that best suits the players he has at his disposal, he has a lot of options and a lot of quality going forward, we needed to get them in the game more and we did against Leeds.

Will Smallbone came of age playing for Stoke last season where he was a key player in their midfield, perhaps that will spur him on a little tonight and he will lead us by example to three points and a comprehensive win, that first elusive clean sheet of the season would be a real bonus.

So tonight is a night when we need to show the rest of the division that we are now ready to show our promotion credentials, that four match run has meant we have lost pace with the top two, but we are still not far off automatic promotion, that is why it is every game as it comes, build the momentum, don't stop it by rotating the side and losing it.

This division is very open, Leicester are looking good and so are Ipswich, but then again so where Preston and their 4-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion showed that the Championship is not like the Premier League where there are most definitely those who are head and shoulders above the rest, there is not a lot of difference between the top two and the bottom three.

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SanMarco added 10:36 - Oct 3 Away at Stoke always feels like a tough game however good Stoke are at the time - our defence will be tested but we really ought to have enough quality to get a result. I would like to see the same starting eleven although I am a bit concerned about Smallbone. I associate matches at Stoke with red cards (usually for Stoke mind!) but Smallbone will see red before long if he is not careful. Sulemana and Alcaraz should definitely start and maybe Adams too but I am not sure who he would come in. Good luck to all those travelling. I hope you return with a point at the very least...

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SaintPaulVW added 11:58 - Oct 3 I agree, no changes would be good. Both to not change a winning team plus also to give a settled defence more time playing as a unit. However, in his press conference yesterday he did seem to indicate that with 3 games this week he was going to want to rotate some players. Hopefully, minimal changes to starting line up so we can try to build on Saturday. COYR
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WestSussexSaint added 13:25 - Oct 3 I think we will see a few changes in the midfield or attack. The back 5 looked settled now and we don’t really have many viable options anyway.
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Bowlercow added 14:54 - Oct 3 How many people have two Saturdays in any one week ? it ain't broke don't fix it Start the game on the front foot and maybe rest a féw when we are comfortably in front
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highfield49 added 15:43 - Oct 3 I agree with SanMarco that Smallbone needs to manage his own game better. Being competitive is one thing but constantly attracting the attention of referees is asking for problems. As for the game at Stoke I'd be surprised if Stuart Armstrong manages a full match, he probably needs a bit of recovery time before the weekend. Shea Charles is versatile and learning quickly so should be in the line up. Equally Alcaraz is still somewhat erratic but at some point, sooner than later, is going to be a match winner. I think that this is an important match to get some momentum towards the winning mentality we've been missing for far too long

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underweststand added 16:23 - Oct 3 It might sound odd to say - just now, but this is a type of " must-win game" as the win over Leeds was a pick-up but we need to get back on track PDQ. Team confidence was rock bottom after those 4 defeats and if this bunch is ever going to become a unit, they need to build on the effect of Saturdays game against a mid table Stoke side who disappointed last season . If we can't get a result , then we are no better than they are and hopes of an immediate return to the Prem. is just hot air. I agree with highfield49 (above) in that Stuart Armstrong may never get back to the 100% fitness level he once had and we may not see him complete a full game again, although his influence on the pitch is valuable. The new lads you mentioned will take time to get upto speed in that midfield role, but might never attain the level that Stu once was.

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Boris1977 added 23:32 - Oct 3 Stu Armstrong is one of our top class players who has been under/ mis-used by all recent managers including poor old Ralph. He's an intelligent player who needs to start as often as possible and to help to establish leads rather than bought on to chase games. He's a key player this season as he's always been since he's arrived.
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