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Southampton: Team news and predicted line-up for Aston Villa clash

By Marc Walker

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Moussa Djenepo of Southampton celebrates with teammate Oriol Romeu after scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Southampton and West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Moussa Djenepo of Southampton celebrates with teammate Oriol Romeu after scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Southampton and West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /
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Southampton play their fourth consecutive match at St Mary’s on Saturday when they host Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Two cup wins and a loss to Arsenal in the league have seen fixtures coming thick and fast, and now Dean Smith’s Villa arrive on the South Coast looking for revenge after Saints’ 4-3 win over them earlier this season.

Ahead of the game, Saints have had some positive team news with their injury list appearing to shorten significantly. In his pre-match press conference, Ralph Hasenhuttl said:

"“I think everyone knows that Ryan (Bertrand) is coming back after his suspension, and Reddy (Nathan Redmond) is just back in the squad.“Ori (Oriol Romeu) and Moussa (Djenepo) are part of the team. If they play from the beginning, I will have a look, but they are available now, so I have a few more options, which is good.”"

Ross Barkley of Aston Villa and Oriol Romeu of Southampton (Photo by Visionhaus)
Ross Barkley of Aston Villa and Oriol Romeu of Southampton (Photo by Visionhaus) /

Saints can take a big stride towards having their full-strength team back this weekend by welcoming each of Ryan Bertrand, Nathan Redmond, Oriol Romeu and Moussa Djenepo back to the matchday squad.

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Bertrand and Redmond may be best placed to start against Villa, but these increased options also provide depth on the substitutes bench that has otherwise been lacking recently.

Hasenhuttl also confirmed that Kyle Walker-Peters will miss this match as he continues to recover from a thigh injury, whilst Jannik Vestergaard is said to making good progress too.

After a narrow 3-2 loss to Burnley last time out, Aston Villa look set to have the same squad available to them after no fresh injuries were reported by Dean Smith.

One change that could be made is the inclusion new signing Morgan Sanson after his £16m arrival from Marseille recently. Wesley and Kortney Hause remain long-term absentees.

Predicted Saints line-up

Without Romeu starting: Alex McCarthy; Yan Valery, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens, Ryan Bertrand; James Ward-Prowse, Ibrahima Diallo; Stuart Armstrong, Nathan Redmond; Che Adams, Danny Ings

This is how Saints could line-up if Oriol Romeu is only fit enough for the bench. If this is the starting team, expect to see a structure weighted to the right in a bid to stop Jack Grealish finding space up against Yan Valery.

Nathan Redmond could start to give Theo Walcott a rest after a heavy schedule and to provide fresh attacking impetus.

If Romeu is deemed fit enough to start, Ibrahima Diallo could start at right-back to negate the threat of Grealish

With Romeu starting: Alex McCarthy; Ibrahima Diallo, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens, Ryan Bertrand; James Ward-Prowse, Oriol Romeu; Stuart Armstrong, Nathan Redmond; Che Adams, Danny Ings

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