Southampton 0-0 Stoke City: Three key players

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 03: Sofiane Boufal of Southampton heads the ball under pressure from Moritz Bauer of Stoke during the Premier League match between Southampton and Stoke City at St Mary's Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 03: Sofiane Boufal of Southampton heads the ball under pressure from Moritz Bauer of Stoke during the Premier League match between Southampton and Stoke City at St Mary's Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: Josh Sims of Southampton is challenged by Erik Pieters 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)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: Josh Sims of Southampton is challenged by Erik Pieters 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)

Josh Sims

Handed his first Premier League start of the season after an impressive performance off the bench against Burnley, Josh Sims looks like a player who the Saints could’ve done with all season.

Granted, the youngster has had a long injury lay-off, but he now seems like his name should be one of the first on the team sheet for the upcoming fixtures.

Sims was once again direct, making runs at Stoke’s back-line for the 75 minutes he was on the pitch – he showed off his good pace and dribbling whilst his two attempts on target were the joint-most made by an Southampton player over the course of the afternoon.