Five things needed for Southampton's friendly against Sevilla

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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 02: Mauricio Pellegrino, manager of Southampton looks on during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Southampton and FC Augsburg at St Mary’s Stadium on August 2, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images) /

Up until Wednesday, Southampton’s pre-season was looking pretty good. They had kept two clean sheets, scored five goals in their two most recent games (three if you’re counting the entire pre-season) and the team was really coming together.

Then a 4-0 home defeat to mid-table Bundesliga side Augsburg didn’t really improve what had been achieved previously over pre-season. Maybe that defeat was necessary as it will allow Pellegrino to realise where his team’s weaknesses are and who should be in his starting XI come the start of the season.

The team do have a second chance to make things right at home, albeit against a better team than faced before. Sevilla will be the strongest test of pre-season but one I think is necessary to face before next weekend’s game against Swansea in the Premier League.

Here are five things I expect to see and that I think are needed before the competitive season begins.

Five things needed for Southampton’s friendly against Sevilla

By Daniel Hargraves | Aug 4, 2017

Up until Wednesday, Southampton’s pre-season was looking pretty good. They had kept two clean sheets, scored five goals in their two most recent games (three if you’re counting the entire pre-season) and the team was really coming together.