News summary
Tonda Eckert had one line for the Spygate question on Thursday. Asked whether the scandal and the wait for a touchline ban had eaten into his week, he kept it short: "I don't feel it has been a big distraction for myself personally. On a day like today, it is Watford and only Watford."
The noise outside carries on. Bromley manager Andy Woodman said this week that the German should have been dismissed.
On air, an EFL pundit called it staggering that Southampton stuck with him.
The head coach's own message was calmer. "We are ready," he told reporters.
He put that down to a full week on the training ground, and to a Thursday session he was happy with.
The academy showed their hand on Friday night. Princewill Ehibhatiomhan scored inside 11 minutes against Blackburn and from that point things were only going to go in one direction.
By half time he had the hat-trick, and before the end, he had teed up Sufianu Sillah Dibaga in Adam Lallana's 4-0 cup win.
Aaron Ramsdale had one save to make. He is no nearer Eckert's plans than he was in May.
A keeper stuck behind Daniel Peretz needs to be playing somewhere else, and this window is running out of days.
Opta ran the season 10,000 times and put Saints second. That is a 13% shot at the title and a 23.7% chance of automatic promotion, with West Ham ahead on both counts.
Watford's team news landed on Friday and it reads well in Hampshire. Travis Akomeah and Jack Grieves are out of the opener, while Jeremy Ngakia is carrying a hamstring problem the Hornets expect to clear up next week.
Transfer news
Ben Brereton Diaz is wanted again. Derby County want a reunion at Pride Park, with Sheffield United watching from a distance.
The Chilean likes the sound of a return to the East Midlands.
His deal runs to June 2028. Nobody gets to short change Saints on a forward who cost £7m from Villarreal two summers ago, and Transfermarkt still values him at around £6.8m.
He scored seven times in the Championship last season. An average rating of 6.78 suggests a player who did a job without lighting the division up.
Southampton have reportedly lodged a loan enquiry for Godwill Kukonki. Several second-tier clubs are asking after the 18-year-old Manchester United centre-back, who would arrive as a project rather than a ready-made solution.
Petar Ratkov looks like a dead end. The Serbian turned down a move from Lazio to the South Coast, even as a separate report on Friday called Southampton's interest worth following closely.
Then Benfica. Their £17m approach for Taylor Harwood-Bellis went nowhere, and Saints want a great deal more for a defender who turns defence into attack better than most in this division.
Matchday
Vicarage Road, Sunday. Kick-off is 1.30.
Sky Sports have picked it up.
Alessio Dionisi takes his first league game in charge since replacing Ed Still on the 15th June. Watford lost their final five league matches of last season, so the Italian inherits a mood as much as a squad.
Southampton have not lost a league game at Watford since 2007. The away end is sold out.
Larin should lead the line after his goal at Colchester, with Dobbin, Azaz and Scienza the likely support. Mubama waits for his first minutes since arriving on loan from Manchester City.
The arithmetic is unkind. Win, and that four-point deduction only drops to minus one.
Saints Marching opinion
A rival manager and an EFL pundit both said this week that Eckert should have been sacked. He answered with one sentence about Watford and moved on.
Good. The club settled this in the summer, and nobody took that decision lightly.
Solak backed him, most of the fanbase came along, and 68 points from 33 league games last season is the case for the defence.
Sunday will be loud. Expect binoculars in the home stands and songs about spying, though the away end sold out weeks ago, and those travelling have had all summer to work on a response.
The jeering is not the problem. Minus four is, and the quickest way to make Opta's second-place call look sensible is to take three points off a Watford side missing two players and still learning a new coach's ideas.
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