Southampton, after picking up their first Championship victory of the season last time out against Stoke City, now have an EFL Cup distraction mid-week against West Ham United.
Despite the Hammers still being able to boast a frightening side that has Jarrod Bowen up top, Nuno Espirito Santo's men remain winless in the second tier, having just lost 2-1 to a spirited Charlton Athletic side at the London Stadium.
Arguably, it's the perfect time to play the low on confidence away team, therefore, before they have fully clicked into gear, with the St Mary's masses hopeful that their beloved outfit can pile on the misery even more for the South London titans by securing back-to-back wins.
Of course, there will also be the worry that West Ham will suddenly spark into life, after suffering a rude awakening in the Championship, and Southampton could be the victims that are on the receiving end of the Hammers collecting a much-needed victory.
It will be interesting to see what starting XI Tonda Eckert selects for the game, with the bread and butter of Championship action pushed to one side momentarily.
Who could start against West Ham?
The straight-talking German has hinted that the changes will come for the clash later today.
Indeed, he will want to ensure his troops are fresh for the tough Championship encounter with Millwall that comes on Saturday, who are the pacesetters in the second tier this campaign with two convincing wins from two, and two clean sheets.
Stating that "we play to win every game" in his pre-match press conference the changes are unlikely to be wholesale, but it might be an appropriate night to bring in the likes of Cameron Bragg, to give Flynn Downes a rest, who dictated play from the middle of the park against the Potters.
Moreover, the likes of James Bree and Ryan Manning could also be rested to give reserve figures such as Mads Roerslev some gametime, with both Bree and Manning very rarely out of Eckert's first team fold.
Samuel Edozie will also fancy his chances of a start after his energetic cameo allowed the Saints to grab two last-gasp goals.
Cyle Larin would surely love a start too, in order to keep up his electric vain of goalscoring form, with his calmly tucked away goal on the break against Mark Robins' men taking his tally for the campaign to a blistering three strikes from three games.
Crazily, he came on as a late second half substitute during the last round of the EFL Cup and still managed to fire home an effort.
The smart call here might be to drop him, though, with Eckert admitting Larin "has been pushing minutes."
He won't be too disorientated by the prospect of dropping his star marksman, however, as he has this hotshot in reserve who will be hungry to dent the already fragile Hammers confidence...
Eckert will be very tempted to start this hotshot
Divin Mubama clearly felt inspired by Larin's red-hot cameo against Colchester United, as he came onto the pitch against Stoke, and scored within 11 minutes of his arrival.
The brand-new number 28 hit a superb effort low and hard past Victor Johanssen to get his Southampton account up and running, having been unveiled as an eye-catching loan signing from Manchester City earlier in the month.
Without his timely strike - which was lauded as a "beautiful" home debut goal by Saints content creator Martin Sanders post-match - the South Coast side might have been made to settle for an unsatisfactory point.
You COULD NOT write it 😅
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 23, 2026
Divin Mubama was only at the Potters last season, and now he scores against them for Southampton pic.twitter.com/xuSNuGXHnU
He will be champing at the bit for more minutes, so a first Saints start could come his way against West Ham, who he was associated with for 11 years between 2013 and 2024.
He would love to stick the dagger in and grab a goal against the second tier giants, having previously collected their Young Player of the Season accolade, without ever making a name for himself in the senior set-up.
West Ham's morale is already at rock bottom, so losing an EFL Cup tie at the hands of one of their former youngsters would be yet another stinging kick in the teeth.
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