?Southampton host Stoke City for the final game of the campaign looking to finish the season at St Mary’s on a positive note after failing to score a goal in their previous four home games.
The Saints have won only one of their seven and Claude Puel will be eager to end the campaign with a victory to keep criticism at bay following the failure to improve Southampton’s league standing for the first time since the Saints return to the Premier League.
Here is how Southampton could lineup on Sunday:
Goalkeeper
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Forster1
?Fraser Forster has had an impressive season and there is no doubt surrounding his position in the starting lineup on Sunday.
Defence
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Soares2
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Yoshida3
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Stephens24
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Bertrand21
Like their position in the table, the Saints have conceded the eighth lowest amount of goals (47) this campaign despite the loss of key players and being plagued by injuries. ?
Cedric Soares is in doubt due to injury following his substitution during the Saints stalemate with Manchester United on Wednesday but if passed fit he is likely to start against the Potters.
Midfield
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Ward-Prowse16
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Davis8
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Romeu14
Despite being directly responsible for only 12 scoring contributions throughout the season – in a combined 94 appearances ?- the midfield trio of James Ward-Prowse, Steven Davis, and Oriol Romeu are expected to keep their place in the Saints starting lineup as they offer a mixture of experience, physicality, and accuracy on set pieces.
Forwards
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Redmond22
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Gabbiadini20
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Tadic11
The Southampton attack has failed to impact the scoreboard on a consistent basis this season and as a result have the seventh lowest goals scored in league (41) this campaign.
However, with the Potters defence conceding 16 goals in their last nine games, the Saints attacking trio of Nathan Redmon, Manolo Gabbiadini, and Dusan Tadic should come into the game confident of taking advantage of their opponents weakness.
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