‘Patched-up Southampton are there for the taking’

If there has been a good time to play Southampton in recent years, it’s arguably right now. The Saints’ incredible march from the League One drop zone to the cusp of European football has been well documented – but nobody seems to have noticed their halo has lost its sparkle of late.

Having been written off by most observers following last summer’s exodus of key players, Southampton surprised almost everybody by finishing seventh in the table – and while doing so were the subject of countless gushing newspaper features as they flirted with the Champions League places. The Southampton way, they said, was a blueprint for any aspirational club looking to rub shoulders with the big boys of English football.

But the ink on those puff pieces was virtually still wet when the tide turned on the south coast. By and large, their spring performances lacked energy – and, straddling the summer, Ronald Koeman’s side are now on a run of just one victory in eight league games. If that does not fill Watford supporters with optimism, Southampton’s record away from St Mary’s is even worse – the Saints have conceded twice in each of their last five trips and not won on the road since February.

The loss of Fraser Forster was arguably the turning point: his knee injury eight games from the end of last season forcing Koeman to rely on one of two third-rate reserve goalkeepers and prompting this summer’s arrival of rusty stopper Maarten Stekelenburg on loan from Fulham. It turns out England understudy Forster’s patellar tendon injury is so severe the Dutchman, who spent last year on the bench at Monaco, may be first choice between the sticks at St Mary’s all season.

Whether Koeman’s side will have the additional crutch of eight further European ties to squeeze into their schedule before Christmas will be decided in Denmark on Thursday, where Middtjyland will hope to scotch Southampton’s Europa League plans. But following another summer of upheaval – internationals Morgan Schneiderlin and Nathaniel Clyne have departed for a combined £36.5million – the ongoing quest for European qualification is robbing Koeman of vital time with his new-look squad on the training field.

Cedric Soares, the Portuguese international right-back signed to replace Clyne, was rested for Thursday’s 1-1 draw at home against the Danish champions and looks certain to start today , but with Ryan Bertrand not back from injury for another three weeks, Koeman may play utility defender Maya Yoshida at left-back instead of more conventional No3 Matt Targett. Along with Jose Fonte and Victor Wanyama, Yoshida has played all 450 minutes of Southampton’s campaign so far and seems unlikely to be dropped.

Saints supporters are still sore at the disappearance of Toby Alderweireld, who shone on loan from Atletico Madrid last season but was sold to Tottenham for a more significant fee than Southampton had the option to pay. Another loanee, Stephen Caulker, may make his Saints’ Premier League bow at centre-half today, while former Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu looks certain to get his first start alongside Wanyama in the engine room. Steven Davis, another rested in midweek, is expected to sit just in front of them with only Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane offering any width behind seemingly undroppable Graziano Pelle up top.

Supporting forwards Rodriguez and Shane Long are likely to be introduced at some point while 22-year-old Juanmi, signed from Malaga without much of a fanfare in June, has only had an hour on pitch so far.

Three years on from his Premier League debut at Manchester City, James Ward-Prowse has not progressed as quickly as those lauding the Saints Academy would have you believe, but his dead-ball delivery alone may see him feature if set-pieces turn out to be Southampton’s best hope this afternoon.

It’s hardly doom and gloom on the south coast, but Koeman will need a few weeks to start getting the best out of what he has at his disposal – and Manchester United’s ongoing interest in signing Mane, plus rumours that Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is keen to re-sign Wanyama – is hardly helping the squad settle.

The weight of history will be on their shoulders this afternoon, too. There is, of course, no reason why the failure of a Southampton side featuring Mick Channon and Charlie George to beat Malcolm Poskett, Martin Patching and Co 35 years ago should have any bearing on today’s result. Nor should we read too much into the fact that Mark Hughes and Matt Le Tissier were on the losing side at Vicarage Road almost 20 years later – allowing Watford’s one-goal wonder David Perpetuini to have his moment in the sun.

But it is nevertheless astonishing how one-sided the history books look when it comes to this fixture. That won’t be lost on the travelling fans. Until Rickie Lambert’s hat-trick in these parts in Southampton’s Championship promotion campaign, the Saints had won just once on Watford soil in 20 league and cup matches stretching back over 100 years.

No, Vicarage Road has not been a happy hunting ground for Southampton. Their wisest supporters are not expecting that trend to change this afternoon.

PS. Both teams to score looks a banker at 10/11 and 3-2 Watford at 40/1 is worth £2.50 for a £100 return.

Tim Dykes is a former sports editor of the Watford Observer, ex Matchnight Editor at uefa.com and former Sports News Editor at the News of the World

Click below to see how much Quique Sanchez Flores is relishing the tactical battle this afternoon.

What tactic will QSF have up his designer sleeve for Southampton? We discuss http://t.co/RiCHRlvRBm #watfordfc pic.twitter.com/WMhcGa5nmD — WD Sport (@WDSport_) August 22, 2015

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