Riyad Mahrez
Mahrez is a bit of an awkward choice in our given 4-4-2 as he normally plays as a winger rather than a mid. That said, lately Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has been deploying him between the two holding mids and the front line, so the characterization somewhat-works.
However you slice it, the 25 year old French-Algerian is a danger on the wings with a goal and an assist through six appearances thus far this season. Expect him to make some deep runs feeding off Danny Drinkwater, and give Southampton’s defence no end of headaches this afternoon.
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Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
Højbjerg is a toss-up here because I’m never sure whether to classify him as a wing-mid or a central-mid; he’s done both roles this season and done them very well. At only 21, he carries a leadership attitude far beyond his years and has a deep knowledge of the game.
He hasn’t been particularly flashy this season for the Saints, but he does all the necessary little things to perfection. Creating space, threading link-up passes, and muscling attackers off the ball are all done in equal measure by this true box-to-box midfielder. He’d be a credit to any team’s Starting XI, and Saints’ faithful should count themselves lucky to have him.
With half the midfield gone, there’s still little to separate the two sides, with Southampton holding a 4-3 advantage.