Saints Marching
Fansided

Southampton vs. Stoke City: Opposition threat

By Jack Deery

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Paul Lambert, Manager of Stoke City applauds fans after the Premier League match between Leicester City and Stoke City at The King Power Stadium on February 24, 2018 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Paul Lambert, Manager of Stoke City applauds fans after the Premier League match between Leicester City and Stoke City at The King Power Stadium on February 24, 2018 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 24: Xherdan Shaqiri of Stoke City in action during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Stoke City at The King Power Stadium on February 24, 2018 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 24: Xherdan Shaqiri of Stoke City in action during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Stoke City at The King Power Stadium on February 24, 2018 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /

Xherdan Shaqiri

It doesn’t take much to realise the former Bayern Munich is Stoke’s best and most effective player. The Swiss attacking midfielder is Stoke’s highest goalscorer with seven and has more assists than any other Stoke player with six.

At age 26, Shaqiri is having his best season in a Stoke shirt after arriving from Inter Milan with big expectations on his shoulders. With a lethal left foot, Southampton will have be very careful about Shaqiri’s trademark cutting in from the right hand side and getting a shot away.

It is now the former Basel academy man’s third season and the Premier League and he looks to have finally settled here in England. If Stoke were to be relegated, I’m sure there will be a lot of interest surrounding the winger.

I would be surprised if there was no extra plan from Pellegrino about trying to stop Shaqiri, failure to deal with him could lead to a Stoke win.