Although the Saints have been on a great run of late, it's painfully obvious that the two hybrid wing backs are struggling and something needs to change.
Against Birmingham City, both Ryan Manning and Tom Fellows were forced to defend quite deep in their own half. Even so, the full-back positions were left open, particularly on Fellows' flank.
Demarai Gray had the freedom of the left wing which led not only to the Birmingham goal but also to Gray putting over seven dangerous crosses.
How Birmingham pinned Fellows and Manning in
All formations have their strengths and weaknesses of course. Saints' 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 (depending on how you view it) either leaves room behind the wingers (Fellows and Manning) in defensive situations or renders them too deep in attacking situations.
Birmingham pinned both Fellows and Manning back in their own half on Saturday. Tomoki Iwata pushed up on the right allowing Gray to pin Fellows back on the left. Chris Davies had done his homework meaning that Southampton's only advantage was on the break.
On the right flank, Iwata drove in nine crosses from 48 Birmingham City crosses in total. Although Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jack Stephens had a field day with the high volume of crosses, the threat of a headed goal remained a possibility throughout.
In possession, Southampton's only outlet proved to be Fellows who would be forced to dribble the ball out from deep in order to get the ball forward.
It's crystal clear when Southampton are at their most dangerous
Saints proved to be more dangerous out of possession than with the ball. Scienza was the chief beneficiary from good defensive work from Flynn Downes and Caspar Jander. The more that Birmingham pressed, the more exposed they were to the counter attack.
Playing on the counter is all well and good but Southampton will come up against better teams in possession than Birmingham City. When that is the case, both Manning and Fellows will need to be higher up the pitch to press possession based teams.
The overarching issue is the energy that both hybrid wingers need to play the role effectively. Fellows in particular covered far too much ground in the course of a match to make the tactic sustainable week on week.
The other issue with Eckert's chosen formation is their predictable pattern of play in possession. Both Fellows and Manning were repeatedly the only outlet for Harwood-Bellis and Stephens respectively making it very easy for Birmingham to press the ball.
Opposition analysts won't take long to figure Saints out
Tonda Eckert may need to vary his approach as the weeks go on. Opposition analysts won't take long to figure out how best to press Southampton in this formation and the Saints may be required to adapt.
Tom Fellows could benefit from playing in a more advanced position but to do so would require Southampton to play with four at the back. Manning on the other hand could be better utilised as a left-back.
A comparison of Southampton's heat maps over the last five matches sees them dropping deeper in possession. Only against Leicester (in recent matches) have the Saints had good possession over the half-way line.