Southampton, if they hadn't been docked four points for their involvement in Spygate, would currently be sat top of the Championship pile on goal difference.
Unfortunately, due to this penalty, they occupy 12th spot instead, but they keep proving they can battle it out with the big boys, having dethroned Swansea City from top position on Tuesday night with a comfortable 3-1 win.
Finn Azaz, Cyle Larin, and Leo Scienza scored the crucial goals as Tonda Eckert's main trusted trio in attack, as the Swans - despite boasting current golden boot holder Žan Vipotnik - just couldn't handle the free-flowing nature of the South Coast outfit on their own patch.
Tom Fellows wasn't quite as lively, as he stood out like a sore thumb, next to his effortless teammates.
Fellows' up-and-down Saints performances
The hope would have been that Fellows would kick on in Saints red and white after scoring his first ever Southampton goal last month, during Eckert and Co's blistering 5-1 win over Millwall.
In reality, since that late goal broke his South Coast duck, he has been poor, with the ex-West Bromwich Albion winger's return to Birmingham at the start of the month, as Southampton drew 1-1 with the Blues, seeing him amass just 28 touches, and only one shot on goal, all night.
It wasn't any better against the Swans, truth be told, as Fellows failed to register a single successful dribble all night down the right flank.
Scienza, on the other hand, was twisting and turning the Welsh side's defence for fun, all while possessing the end product the number 18 often lacks.
With zero shots attempted, too, alongside zero duels won, it wasn't a shock that Fellows was taken off around the 76th minute mark.
He will be nervous he will be dropped altogether from the starting XI as Michael Skubala's Robins visit St. Mary's, as his replacement on the night only needed 14 minutes to upstage his lacklustre showing.
The alteration Eckert could make
Kuryu Matsuki would help the seal the win mere moments after coming on.
Indeed, the ex-FC Tokyo attacker would bomb forward with pace, just two minutes after coming on, before calmly playing in Scienza, who beat Lawrence Vigouroux to clinch the match.
It was a fantastic breakaway goal, and just what was needed to calm the late nerves, with Fellows potentially messing up this slick counter attack, if he were still on the pitch.
Scienza signs us out 🫡 pic.twitter.com/iHWakEBfo1
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) September 8, 2026
The silky Brazilian would celebrate with Matsuki in the direct aftermath of the goal, as he pointed in the 23-year-old's direction, knowing full well how pivotal he was in that fast move being executed perfectly.
He could well be given the nod against the Robins, over Fellows, for this assist alone, with Matsuki boasting nine goal contributions from just 36 Saints appearances, when looking at his numbers more widely.
His hot-and-cold counterpart does have nine goal contributions next to his name, as well, but only one of those has been a goal.
Additionally, his last assist fell all the way back in April, although it did come against Saturday's opponents, funnily enough.
While Azaz, Larin, and Scienza have their starting positions set in stone in Eckert's main team, the right wing position continues to be a spot of bother, with Eckert regularly chopping and changing between Matsuki and Fellows.
For the match on Saturday, the German could be swayed to go with his number 27, over the inconsistent Englishman, just for what he offered against Swansea on Tuesday night, with widespread changes not needed after such an enjoyable overall display.
Add us as a preferred source on Google