For the last two seasons, Southampton have been in an around the relegation zone and manager Ralph Hassenhüttl will look to change that this campaign. He will look to regain the form that saw the team play back to back seasons in the Europa League just four years ago, but it won’t be easy, due to the high player turnover they’ve had in the past.
However, leading up to this season, they haven’t yet lost a key man. Midfielder Mario Lemina looks to be on his way out of St. Mary’s but the Gabonese played under 1,700 minutes of Premier League football last season as he struggled to get in ahead of the likes of Oriol Romeu and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
They have strengthened in the window aswell, especially in the striker department with the now permanent signing of Danny Ings fellow striker Che Adams for similar fees around £20 million. They’ve also purchased Moussa Djenepo from Standard Leige, an African winger from Europe. Could he be the next Sadio Mane?
Pre-season Form
Southampton have been in fine form in pre-season. The Saints are unbeaten and scoring goals freely. They have beaten Feyenoord, Guangzhou and Preston along the way, all in convincing fashion, scoring ten goals in the process, three of which coming from new signing, Adams. Funnily enough, out of the three goals he’s scored for the club, the 6th minute is the latest minute he’s scored in.
Star Man- Nathan Redmond (£6.5m)
It always seemed to be that at the beginning of the campaign, Southampton winger Nathan Redmond would make it into a lot of FPL teams but this year, FPL managers have seemingly had enough. He is owned by one in 40 of them despite his decent return last season and some other solid seasons in the past few years.
He notched 137 points last season, scoring six goals and assisting a further five but has failed to really push the 150 mark since joining the Premier League back in 2013. An England call up for Euro 2020 might be on the line this summer, so you may see that extra 10% this season to help secure his place in Gareth Southgate’s squad and your FPL squads.
Hidden Gem- Che Adams (£6.0m)
Every season, FPL managers across the world are looking for that cheap striker to fill a spot in their team and I think this year, Che Adams could be that man. He’s bagged a few goals already this season and seems to be settling in well at the club. The 23 year old found the next 22 times in the Championship last season and still has a lot of potential to get even better.
His 1.5% ownership makes him one of the least selected strikers out there, which is great as he could become a fantastic differential at the beginning of the game and soar you up those mini-leagues. At such a small price and ownership you can’t go wrong for a cheap forward for the start of the campaign.
Gamble Pick- Ryan Bertrand (£5.0m)
When you see a bottom five defender being priced at £5.0m, there is always going to be a risk in picking him. The England international and former Champions League winner has been a vital asset for Southampton for years and I feel he still has at least a couple of seasons left in the tank. He’s selected by just 1.1% so not a lot of people share that opinion, but no worries, that will just make him a nice differential.
He scored just 56 points from defence last season, but still managed to top the charts for Southampton defenders, despite playing under 2/3 of the possible game time. Before last season, he notched up four consecutive century scores in FPL, and if he can regain similar form this season under Hassehüttl, then I expect his ownership to rise significantly.
Predicted Line-up
Gunn
Valery – Bednarek – Vestergaard – Yoshida – Bertrand
Hojbjerg – Ward Prowse
Redmond
Ings – Adams
Written by, Harry Clark (@HarryClark_)
