Ahead of this weekend’s clash with West Ham United, Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino as confirmed he has a full squad at his disposal.
After drawing their opening game against Swansea City, Southampton play host to West Ham this weekend, in a fixture that was moved from the London Stadium to St. Mary’s.
West Ham suffered the opening weekend’s heaviest defeat, losing 4-0 to a slick Manchester United side. It may have dented the side’s confidence, or done the exact opposite.
All that’s certain is that the Southampton supporters are itching to see their side end their St. Mary’s goal drought – firing blank for another 90 minutes would mean they’ve not scored at home in over ten hours of football.
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But Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino has confirmed he has no fresh injury doubts ahead of the clash with Slaven Bilic’s side, meaning the Saints will have their full arsenal available.
That could mean a Southampton debut for either Jan Bednarek or more importantly Mario Lemina, whilst Sam Gallagher could potentially make his first-team return after his time out on loan.
"“Ryan (Bertrand) was training good, I think physically he is fit. Everybody is OK, even Alex McCarthy. He has been playing Monday night in the Under-23 game. It’s good news for us, because everybody is ready for this game.” – Pellegrino"
McCarthy’s return after a long-term absence will be music to the Saints fan’s ears, as it’ll offer more competition to the first-choice stopper Fraser Forster. Despite adding Jack Rose to a long list of goalkeepers at the club, Forster hasn’t lost his starting place in the league in over a year and as a result as arguably produced more average performances.
A win for the Saints this coming Saturday would do great things for the side’s confidence too, with the month ending with an away game against a fearless Huddersfield.
The promoted side won their opening game comfortably but will still go into their match with Southampton as underdogs, meaning the Saints will want to head into it brimming with confidence themselves.