Saints travel to Wales for the second time this year, but this time it is as a Premier League club and in the Carabao Cup, but will it be a repeat of last year, when they crashed out to Gillingham in the competition.

Just over a year ago Saints travelled to Gillingham and put out what was essentially a second string side, it contained a mixture of virtually completely untried youngsters and senior players who were clearly disgruntled with their lot at the club.

It almost seemed like Russell Martin was determined to make sure we departed the competition at the first hurdle so he could concentrate on the League.

So it was no surprise that we bombed out of the competition to a 3-1 defeat.

A year later and a lot has changed at the club, of the 16 players who were involved in that game, 8 of them have already left ( 1 out on loan) and of the other 8, the likes of Charly Alcatraz and Tall Paul Onuachu are trying to get out of the door.

A year later though and one thing that won't change is that Russell Martin will change his side from the team that started against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, it would be surprising if it is not 11 changes.

But one thing that will be different is that , the starting XI will not be untried or disgruntled, it will in the main contain players trying to press their case for a first team place.

In goal I would expect Alex McCarthy to be replaced by Joe Lumley, I would expect a complete revamp in the back four, James Bree perhaps at right back, Nathan Wood & Ronnie Edwards in the centre and Ryan Manning at left back.

That is a line up with plenty of experience at Championship level.

In midfield it has already been stated by Russell martin that Lesley Ugochukwu will start in midfield and he will likely be joined by Adam Lallana, they could well be flanked by Sam Edozie and Sam Amo-Ameyaw with Tyler Dibling and perhaps Cameron Archer up front.

On the bench and in some cases perhaps even in the starting XI we could see the likes of Paul Onuachu, Sulemana & even long term injuries Juan Larios & Ross Stewart, who are both back in full training, they will probably be beefed up by a number of those who are nearer the first team, Charlie Taylor, Jack Stephens and perhaps Matteus Fernandes.

This is of course all reliant on what sort of formation that Russell Martin wishes to employ, so far his selections in the Premier League have been predictable, but his tactics haven't been, it has been hard to work out whether we are playing 3 at the back or 4 and where Jack Stephens actual role is in the side.

The trick both in the Carabao Cup tonight and indeed in the Premier League is to keep things simple, play the best player for each position from the squad that you have and don't complicate matters with a player floating between defence and the centre of midfield.

Most Southampton supporters will be hoping for progression in this competition, some managers see it as a hindrance to the League, but truth is in these days of big squads, we should be able to cope with both.

It is a chance for those fringe players to show what they can do, push their claims for more game time in the Premier League and that breeds healthy competition in the squad, not to mention more experience for the younger players.

So you would hope that this years first game in the competition, will be far more positive than last years.

All Photos Via Reuters

JoeEgg added 09:23 - Aug 28 Almost impossible to offer any comment right now that will not seem foolish by the time anybody reads it! Will we get a goalkeeper and that striker we so desperately need? Is Russell Martin seriously considering lining up against Brentford as we did against Forest? Eleven new faces lining up against Cardiff - will it be Gillingham all over again? And so it goes on. For me the biggest question mark now is just how is Russell Martin going to convince the majority of fans that he is the right man for the job?

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davidargyll added 09:44 - Aug 28 “The manager will have two objectives from this game, the first will be to obviously win it, but the second is perhaps more important for the season, that is to fine tune the players on the fringes to the possession game he has introduced to the club and hopefully create some competition in the squad going forward.” Sounds familiar? Yes unfair I know but this was from Nick’s preview of the Gillingham game last year. Plus ca change…?

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SaintPaulVW added 10:30 - Aug 28 These games are win- win really, either someone on the fringes plays well and stands out, or, you lose and can concentrate on the real prize - staying up.
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