Fit again Southampton star will be aiming to be Tonda Eckert's own Danny Ings

Tonda Eckert has been handed several injury boosts ahead of the South Coast Derby.

Heading into Southampton's first match back since the international break concluded in the Championship, Eckert would have been worried that he wouldn't be able to call upon Cyle Larin and Daniel Peretz, who both picked up niggles on international duty.

Both players in question have been ever-present in the German's starting XIs this season, and they should remain in the first team fold for the vital Portsmouth clash, as they have returned to first team training and should be available, as per Eckert's pre-match press conference.

Caspar Jander has also brushed off a troubling injury which has kept him out of the side all campaign long in a dream set of circumstances for the 33-year-old.

Larin would love to be the hero that secures an emphatic win for the Saints in such a hotly contested showdown, with the last four meetings between the two teams - in league action - ending in a tie.

Fingers crossed, throwing a striker of the Canadian's potency into battle steers the hosts to an elusive victory, with the Brampton Bagsman looking to follow in Danny Ings' footsteps by causing South Coast Derby chaos.

Ings' heroics vs Pompey

In 2019, Southampton would travel to their arch nemesis from down the road in an EFL Cup third round meeting.

At the time, Pompey were stuck in the pits of League One, constantly failing to reach the second tier under Kenny Jackett, while the Ralph Hasenhuttl-led away side were in the Premier League, so it was expected that the Saints would reign supreme.

They did just that, as well, in convincing style, as the top-flight outfit tore the lowly hosts to shreds in a 4-0 victory at Fratton Park.

Ings would cement himself as a modern day legend at Southampton even more with a brace in the Cup clash, with the current Wycombe Wanderers marksman finishing his St. Mary's stay with 46 goals in total, from 100 games.

He will forever be remembered for powering home his deadly brace at Fratton Park, too, as Pompey did have some chances to take the lead in the game, watching the highlights back, but Ings blew them away with two quickfire strikes to put his team on the path to victory.

Now, it's up to the new breed at St Mary's to be as clinical in front of goal to win the latest instalment of the heated affair, and Larin should be able to step up to the mark.

Larin should be able to step up

Indeed, he leads the way at the moment in the Championship golden boot race, with a blistering seven strikes collected from eight league encounters.

He also loves playing in front of his adoring home masses, with only one of those aforementioned seven goals coming away from the fortress that is St. Mary's.

If Larin gets an early goal, like he did against Stoke City in the eighth minute back in August, another straightforward victory on home soil should be forthcoming, with the Potters losing 3-1 on that occasion.

Staggeringly, only four of his 15 Championship strikes on the South Coast have come in away matches, so he's clearly a homebird who thrives off the energy of the local supporters all being behind him.

He would also love to be Eckert's very own Ings, with the German now secure in his job, with the 33-year-old reawakening the Canadian's goalscoring prowess, ever since they first crossed paths in January.

A couple of months down the line, Larin is already becoming a modern great at St. Mary's, with a goal to come against Pompey only solidifying his sturdy presence as an Ings-style poacher, who delivered moments of magic in tough matches.

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