Southampton must silence Portsmouth's own Finn Azaz to secure South Coast Derby win

Finn Azaz has had a quiet international break playing here and there for the Republic of Ireland.

He remains stuck on just one goal for his nation from 16 caps, having failed to score against Kosovo and Austria from two 90 minute runouts.

Azaz will be looking to break back into Championship action with a bang after an unmemorable spell in the Irish camp, with Portsmouth knowing full well they're going to have to completely nullify the eye-catching playmaker, if they're to secure an away day win at Southampton.

Azaz's superb performances this season

Alongside Cyle Larin, who leads the way in the Championship golden boot race with seven strikes, Azaz is a complete shoo-in at the moment to be in Tonda Eckert's starting XI currently.

Indeed, he has a mightily impressive three goals and five assists under his belt from only eight second tier clashes so far.

To make matters even more overwhelmingly positive, the ex-Middlesbrough midfielder has also fired home three goals across his last three Championship outings at St. Mary's, with the likes of Millwall and Swansea City simply not knowing what to do with Azaz at points.

There is an argument to be had that he is the most effective number ten in the entire division, with a stunning 15 big chances created last season when he came into his own under Eckert.

He is just extremely reliable, even if the St. Mary's masses get slightly frustrated that he can go anonymous from time to time in matches, with a whopping 71 goals and assists next to his name across 142 career appearances in the Championship.

One of those assists came about last season at Fratton Park, when Leo Scienza darted forward to fire home, after Azaz found him in space.

He will be trusted with unlocking the injury-depleted Pompey backline again on Sunday, with John Mousinho fully aware that he needs to be put under lock and key, if his team stand any chance of a win at their arch rivals.

Likewise, though, Pompey have some show-stopping attackers that the Saints must keep tabs on to pick up a win, with Mousinho and Co. boasting their own Azaz-style creator.

Saints will have to silence Pompey's own Azaz

While the away team will come into this hotly contested affair petrified they could be turned over due to a horrible injury list, they do still have some attackers that could cause the hosts bother.

Abu Kamara has slotted back into familiar surroundings at Fratton Park well, with the Saints backline having to ensure they don't feel too dizzy when coming up against the slick attacker.

Alongside Kamara, there is also Tyrese Shade, with the lofty forward picking up an assist on his Pompey debut against Cardiff City in early September.

Moving away from the additions of the ex-Burton Albion striker, and the London-born winger, boosting Mousinho's options, there is also the creative force of Adrian Segecic that sticks out from the Pompey attacking arsenal.

The Croatia U21 international doesn't quite boast Azaz-level numbers so far this season, but he can pull off a magical piece of trickery and thunder home a beautiful strike just like the Irishman in the blink of an eye, with his only goal so far in the Championship this campaign seeing him cannon home a splendid free-kick against Lincoln City.

On top of that, he has created five big chances from just seven league starts, proving that he is at the heart of Pompey's most dangerous attacks.

If he can be shut down, Southampton stand a great chance of picking up another emphatic win on home soil.

But, if Segecic is raring to go and causes havoc, the 100% record the Saints are so proud of at home this campaign in the Championship could go up in flames, with the 22-year-old menace bagging 11 second tier goals last season, when at his very best.

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