Southampton: Davis and Yoshida confirmed absences for Newcastle
By Chris Hughes
Southampton duo Maya Yoshida and Steven Davis’ absences have been reaffirmed by Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino.
Ahead of yet another vital six-pointer, the south coast outfit will be without two of their most experienced players with Steven Davis and Maya Yoshida still on the sidelines.
The former hasn’t featured in just under a month through injury and whilst Yoshida’s setback was more recent, he’s still going to be absent for at least another three weeks to a month.
The match against Newcastle this weekend has been deemed one of the Saints’ ‘easiest’ fixtures when compared to what else is still to come, meaning the absence of two experienced heads will be sorely missed.
Southampton have just 28 points from 29 games, a worrying statistic when the 40-point mark is considered the safety buffer for teams fighting for survival.
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Mauricio Pellegrino will therefore be hoping that some of the Saints’ more experienced heads – such as Oriol Romeu and Dusan Tadic – step up to the plate when called upon this weekend.
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The Magpies are a solid team defensively and the Saints will need to remain disciplined and focused for the full 90, something which may be a struggle without the experienced heads.
Davis has been subject of some criticism this season for what has been deemed ‘sub-par’ performances in comparison to his efforts in previous campaigns. As a result, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and summer signing Mario Lemina have enjoyed substantial roles alongside Oriol Romeu in the middle of the park.
But that doesn’t meant that Davis – the side’s current Club Captain – still doesn’t have a large influence on proceedings.
Southampton will be in an incredibly precarious position if they lose this weekend and with Davis, Yoshida and Austin too still absent for many of these winnable fixtures. It would be a worrying predicament.
Saints versus Newcastle kicks off at St. James’ Park this Saturday at 3:00PM.