The Saints fans in the Transfer Tavern tonight will surely be optimistic about the season ahead.
Reaching a League Cup final last season was excellent, but can they improve?
The Saints kick off their 2017/18 season with a home game against a side who nearly faced relegation last time out, Swansea.
If last season is anything to go by, this should be a comfortable win for Southampton and with Swansea’s defensive issues, they will most likely look to take the game to the Swans and attack for the full 90.
Should Pellegrino’s men find themselves behind in the game or find their attackers aren’t performing as well as the Argentine boss expects them to, then substitutions will obviously need to take place.
Southampton have some very good players on their bench, players that can make a difference and on that note, here are TWO players Pellegrino must utilise as impact subs in their first match against Swansea….
Manolo Gabbiadini
When Gabbiadini first joined Southampton in the January transfer window, he hit the ground running with four goals in his first three games in the Premier League and he scored Southampton’s two goals in the League Cup final defeat against United.
Unfortunately, since that point, he suffered a minor groin injury which kept him out of action for three weeks and is yet to score since.
Our landlord reckons Charlie Austin will start up top against Swansea but should he be struggling to find the net, Pellegrino should give the Italian another chance off the bench.
Sofiane Boufal
Whilst Boufal had an average season last time out with 24 appearances returning just one goal, his 15/16 season with Lille proved just how good the Moroccan winger can be.
11 goals and four assists for the French side earned him a move to Southampton and he’s been used as an impact sub pretty much ever since.
He’s started his fair share of games but hasn’t done anything to warrant a consistent place in the first team.
Once he gets his confidence back however, we could see a very different Boufal and maybe a few performances off the bench.
What do you think Southampton fans? Let us know down below!
