Southampton begin 2026/27 away at League Two Colchester United on Saturday. It is a Carabao Cup first round tie at the JobServe Community Stadium.
This will be the club's first competitive game since the Spygate expulsion. Saints face the Championship season with a four-point deduction, so a decent start in the cup would do no harm.
Fans have already been naming their teams. On a Reddit thread picking a starting eleven, the most upvoted reply argued for a side as close to full strength as the injuries allow.
The logic was simple. A near-first-choice team gets the group gelling before the league opener at Watford a week later.
Why the strong side wins the argument online
The injury list forces plenty of the choices anyway. Finn Azaz has a shin problem, Jander is sidelined, and Shea Charles looks close to a move away.
Azaz missing out is the headline absence. It was reported that the Irishman is unlikely to last 90 minutes even if he features at all.
At the back, most of the picks make themselves. Daniel Peretz should start in goal.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis at this level looks 'world-class ', and he virtually picks himself. The question is about who partners him in the heart of the defence.
In midfield, one supporter on the thread made a neat point.
Flynn Downes suits the busier, ball-winning role, while Cam Bragg looks calmer sitting behind him, keeping the passing tidy and the play in front of him.
But Bragg is far better than these fans give him credit for. He is equally adept when playing under pressure and with his back to goal as he is facing forward. He also happens to have the best passing range of anybody on the pitch.
The striker question fans keep circling
The one spot that splits opinion is up top. With Ross Stewart gone and apparently close to a Swansea move, and Cyle Larin easing back from an extended break, the field narrows.
That leaves Damion Downs as the likeliest pick. A fan on the thread felt Downs has the most room to turn his Saints career around, and backing the 22-year-old to build on his pre-season minutes reads as fair.
Then there is the creator behind him. Lewis Dobbin has slotted into the Azaz role nicely during pre-season.
Dobbin has looked every bit the smart summer buy many expected, and a first competitive start looks the obvious reward. He scored in the final friendly win in Germany, so the timing could hardly be better.
Where Eckert could surprise everyone
There is one angle the thread mostly skips. Eckert may reward the academy players who lit up pre-season.
Striker Nicholas Oyekunle powered home a header against Eastleigh, and Romeo Akachukwu got on the scoresheet too, while Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh also looked composed after slotting into midfield. In Germany, all three made compelling cases to feature more often this coming season.
A first-round cup tie is the natural place to test them. One supporter already wants Oyekunle involved off the bench.
The manager has never been shy about trusting youth. The centre-back pairing is the bigger clue, though.
Whether Eckert starts Taylor Harwood-Bellis next to Jack Stephens or hands Nathan Wood the shirt could point to his Watford plan.
Fan Verdict: Go as strong as the fitness allows, hand Dobbin the role behind Downs, and use the tie to build rhythm before Watford.
SM View: An academy face or two would not undo that plan. The centre-back call may tell fans more about the Watford side than the result does.
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