Southampton 0-0 Stoke City: Three key takeaways

2 of 4

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: Nathan Redmond of Southampton breaks away from Moritz Bauer of Stoke City during the Premier League match between Southampton and Stoke City at St Mary’s Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) /

Déjà vu

Looking back at our ‘key takeaways’ article from the reverse fixture in September, it seems that worryingly little has changed in regards to the attacking issues.

Redmond and Tadic were picked out as frustrating figures last time around. And once again Redmond failed to make the impact that his match stats suggest he should.

Like last time, the winger made the most dribbles in the match and had the second highest pass success ratio (88%, after Mario Lemina’s 94%). Perhaps Boufal’s glaring miss in the second half denied Redmond an assist, but aside from that his contribution was underwhelming.

Meanwhile Tadic was probably the most anonymous player in the side. He continues to struggle in the central attacking midfield role, and his form has been patchy at best.

On the selection front, the Pellegrino still refuses to play Gabbiadini alongside another striker. Whereas in September he was starting Shane Long alone up front, the burden is now on Guido Carrillo.

Gabbiadini has played behind a lone striker previously in his career. Surely it would be worth dropping Tadic and giving the Italian a go instead.

Back in September we also discussed the potential impact of Josh Sims. Thankfully he is now finally getting his chance in the starting 11.

It’s unfortunate that the 20 year old winger has continued to be hampered by injuries this season. Hopefully he can now stay fit for the remainder of the season and make an important contribution.