Southampton must silence QPR's own Cyle Larin to keep St Mary's record going

Southampton arrive back at St Mary's on Saturday to face Queens Park Rangers full to the brim with confidence.

Tonda Eckert's side have just overcome West Ham United 3-2 at the London Stadium, which means they're only three points off second place in the division in Swansea City, as they return to their very comfortable abode for another Championship clash.

The Saints fans packed into St. Mary's will be expecting another home win, with five victories already secured on home soil this season.

They are yet to lose at all in league action at their own fortress, which is a remarkable feat.

But, Eckert and Co. will need to be fully switched on throughout to grab all three points, with QPR possessing their very own Cyle Larin in this sharpshooter.

QPR's own Larin

Richard Kone would score the earliest hat-trick in EFL history when he scored three quickfire goals inside 15 minutes against Swansea last time out.

The red-hot Ivorian only needed 40 touches of the ball to put three strikes past a busy Lawrence Vigouroux, as he displayed a clinical edge usually reserved for the Brampton Bagsman.

Much like Larin, he has suffered from annoying injury issues this season, but when he's fit and firing, he is devastating in-front of goal, with ten Championship goals put away last season for the R's from 43 appearances.

If he's given just a sniff of a chance, he could make Eckert's hosts pay on Saturday, with those ten goals being registered from a meagre average of 33.6 touches per match.

He has certainly lived up to his tag of being a "sharp finisher" which was once handed to him during his Wycombe Wanderers days by BBC Three Counties Radio commentator Sam Avery, as he pushes himself to try and keep this purple patch going at St. Mary's.

Of course, while the Saints will have to keep tabs on the R's very own version of Larin to be successful on Saturday, there will be lots of fingers crossed that the actual Brampton Bagsman will feature tomorrow, as he would cause Julien Stephan's visitors all sorts of problems if he's injury-free.

Will the actual Larin play?

Larin hasn't been firing on all cylinders in recent matches.

As a result, he has fallen off the top of the goalscoring charts in the Championship, with Will Lankshear way out ahead with a stunning 11 strikes.

His Canadian counterpart is stuck on seven, with injury problems seeing him come off early against Bolton Wanderers, and then not feature at all versus West Ham.

Eckert's away side did prove they can pick up impressive results without their leading marksman at the London Stadium, as Lewis Dobbin scored as his replacement.

But, having him back would be a huge plus, as the original Larin potentially faces off against his kindred spirit.

Six of his seven Championship goals have come at home this season, too, so if he was fit, he would be desperate to entertain the adoring St. Mary's faithful with another goal on the South Coast, after having his Bolton runout cut short.

Moreover, he somehow didn't get on the scoresheet last campaign, when the Saints humbled the visiting R's 5-0.

He would be looking to correct that if he was fit enough to start, as Southampton supporters everywhere wait with bated breath to see what the German reveals about his treatment room situation in his pre-match press conference later today.

There will also be some intrigue to see if Flynn Downes has shaken off his own niggle.

While both Downes and Larin are touch-and-go, Kone is surely nailed on to start for the R's after his record-breaking Swansea hat-trick, as he attempts to make more headlines at St. Mary's.

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