Anybody expecting eleven academy graduates tonight has misread him. Tonda Eckert picked a proper side at Colchester in round one and won 2-0. "We play to win every single game, independent of the competition," he said on Monday.
Then he named the players who emptied the tank against Stoke. Finn Azaz, Nathan Wood, Cyle Larin, Tom Fellows, Kuryu Matsuki. All but one of them should be sitting out tonight.
Here is the side that should start: George Long; James Bree, Joshua Quarshie, Jack Stephens, Welington; Cameron Bragg, Flynn Downes; Romeo Akachukwu, Lewis Dobbin, Sam Edozie; Divin Mubama.
The players Eckert cannot rotate
Why is Downes still in there on three days' rest?
Because the alternative is asking Jander, who has not played competitively since limping out of a pre-season friendly at Eastleigh, to get through ninety minutes against a Premier League squad on his first night back. Downes slid the pass that put Larin clean through inside six minutes on Saturday. Cameron Bragg beside him has only just come out of the academy. Take Downes out and the whole shape wobbles.
Wood is the awkward one. He got his first full ninety in weeks on Saturday. If selected, he plays a third game inside eight days. Expect Joshua Quarshie to get his first start of the season instead.
Harwood-Bellis is unlikely to be anywhere near the squad. Eckert is not about to stick a man he might sell next week into a cup tie. Saints Marching set out the card Southampton hold in that stand-off.
Who this hands a start to tonight
Sam Edozie promised supporters he would be ready this summer. His latest cameo won the penalty that turned Saturday into a 3-1. Give him an hour against a Premier League squad and find out whether the promise holds.
Mubama gets the start he earned. Tonight he faces the club that handed him his senior debut, three days after scoring against the club he spent last season on loan at. If that is weighing on him, he hid it well celebrating in front of the Northam. Saints Marching noted afterwards that Mubama could start here.
Start Romeo Akachukwu on the opposite side to Edozie. He scored the second at Colchester in round one. Five minutes at the death on Saturday was not much of a follow-up.
George Long has watched both league games from the bench since arriving from Norwich on a free. Ramsdale and Bazunu are waiting on moves out. Peretz is nailed on for Millwall. Where else does a second goalkeeper get a game?
Now think about what Nuno Espírito Santo is walking into. Charlton went to West Ham on Saturday and won. Tomáš Souček is out, hurt on World Cup duty with Czechia. The pre-season title favourites have one point. Their head coach spent his last press conference asking everyone to stay positive.
Verdict: Southampton have far higher priorities this season than having a decent Carabao Cup run. However, beating an understrength Hammers side while resting a few first-teamer is always a sign of a squad functioning well.
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