Southampton: Pellegrino reveals Cedric will miss Bournemouth game
By Chris Hughes
In his pre-match conference ahead of this weekend’s clash with Bournemouth, Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino confirmed Cedric will not be fit for the match.
Ahead of their third game in the space of a week, the Saints have been dealt a serious blow with one of their ever-present defenders set to miss his first game of the season.
Portuguese right-back Cedric Soares has started each and every one of Mauricio Pellegrino’s first 14 PL games in charge, proving vital to his side’s style of play with his bombing runs and regular crosses.
It remains unclear who will deputise for the 26-year-old, with Jeremy Pied having only played in the Carabao Cup defeat to Wolves back at the start of the season. Despite featuring for the Under-23’s, his fitness may not be up to Premier League standard.
"“Cédric will not be ready for Sunday, and Shane Long has got an issue in his calf. So we’ve got some players with a problem today.“Maybe tomorrow we’ll review, and we’ll decide how Long is. The doctor will check, but today he couldn’t train, it is a little bit sore in the calf. Tomorrow we’ll make a decision.” – Pellegrino"
However it was Sam McQueen – naturally a left-sided player – who came on for Cedric late in the game against Manchester City earlier this week. Although the Saints went on to lose 2-1, McQueen could be given a chance by Pellegrino.
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The 46-year-old has seemingly been shaking it up as of late, with a host of changes made for the 4-1 win at Everton and an entire new formation used in the aforementioned loss to City.
Meanwhile with Long potentially absent it would wise to suggest that Pellegrino will field a different striker on Sunday.
Having been dropped for tactical reasons, it would make sense that Charlie Austin would get the nod after his brace in the win over the Toffees.
Assuming that Chaz starts up front, the Saints are also more likely to revert to the 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 which worked wonders at St. Mary’s last weekend – this comes after Pellegrino set the side up in a 5-3-2 to combat Manchester City’s dominant attacking football.