Norwich vs Southampton: Breaking team news ahead of kick-off

Southampton get their Premier League season back underway this evening when they travel to face Norwich City.

Saints currently sit in 14th in the top-flight table and have accumulated 34 points so far, so they will be keen to get over the 40-point mark as soon as possible.

Norwich are rock-bottom of the standings with just 21 points and are six points away from safety. For that reason, they will be wanting to build some quick momentum for the run in when they kick-off against Saints.

During pre-match press conferences ahead of this game, Ralph Hasenhuttl and Daniel Farke both confirmed which players would be ruled out of selection.

Saints winger Moussa Djenepo is sitting out the first game of a three-match suspension after being sent off against Newcastle in the team’s last Premier League outing.

Hasenhuttl also mentioned that this week could be too early for striker Shane Long who has been nursing a muscular problem recently.

Norwich’s injury list looks to be a lot more lengthy that Saints’ though.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Daniel Farke confirmed that each of Grant Hanley, Sam Byram and Christoph Zimmermann have been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Marco Stiepermann is also not available for selection after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. He has since tested negative but will have to isolate away from the squad for seven days.

Saints were the victors by a scoreline of 2-1 when they faced Norwich at St Mary’s back in early December – goals from Danny Ings and Ryan Bertrand confirming a crucial second win in four days and a perfect start to the Christmas period.

Ahead of this evening’s game, it appears that both teams have lined up in a similar way and this could lead to an intriguing tactical battle.

Confirmed Norwich team (4-4-2): Tim Krul, Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey, Timm Klose, Jamal Lewis, Tom Trybull, Kenny McLean, Emiliano Buendia, Todd Cantwell, Josip Drmic, Teemu Pukki

Subs: Michael McGovern, Lukas Rupp, Mario Vrancic, Moritz Leitner, Onel Hernandez, Ondrej Duda, Alex Tettey, Adam Idah, Josh Martin

Confirmed Saints team (4-2-2-2): Alex McCarthy, Yan Valery, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, Ryan Bertrand, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond, Stuart Armstrong, Danny Ings, Michael Obafemi

Subs: Angus Gunn, Kyle Walker-Peters, Jannik Vestergaard, Kevin Danso, Will Smallbone, Oriol Romeu, Sofiane Boufal, Nathan Tella, Che Adams