Southampton: Stoke City facing defensive crisis ahead of Saints game
By Chris Hughes
Ahead of this weekend’s clash with Southampton, Mark Hughes’ Stoke side are facing an injury crisis at the back.
With just one win from their first six games, it’s not been the best start to the season for the Potters, with their most recent fixture being a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea.
And things won’t be any easier at the back when they host Southampton this coming weekend, with as many as four defenders potentially missing for the clash.
Ryan Shawcross and Bruno Martins Indi are confirmed absences, but Geoff Cameron and summer signing Kevin Wimmer could also both be absent with injury setbacks meaning it’ll be touch-and-go right up to kick-off.
Southampton have struggled for goals this season, meaning the news will come as music to the players’ ears. The Saints have registered just four goals so far this campaign, with only two being from open play and three being in one game against West Ham.
Mauricio Pellegrino’s strikers will still have to get past Jack Butland however, who will want to bounce back from the poor performance against the champions that saw Alvaro Morata bag a hattrick.
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Fittingly, Southampton could welcome back their star defender to the starting XI this weekend, with Virgil van Dijk tipped for another appearance after missing the Saints’ Under-23 game earlier this week. The 26-year-old had previously started the last two games for the reserve side.
If results go their way then a win this weekend for the Saints could propel them up the table and potentially see them tied for the fourth – as ambitious as that may be.
Meanwhile Stoke could drop as low as 19th with a loss, with only the bottom-of-the-table Crystal Palace unable to leapfrog Mark Hughes’ men.