Broken Southampton set to be missing 11 players for Newcastle United game
and live on Freeview channel 276
The Saints head to Tyneside on the back of a 9-0 hammering against Manchester United on Tuesday evening, and with a squad so short on bodies that manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was forced to hand two teenagers their debuts at Old Trafford.
One of those players, Swiss midfielder Alex Jankewitz, lasted just two minutes of his full debut before being red-carded for a horror challenge on Scott McTominay.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe will be suspended for the trip to St James's Park, as will Jan Bednarek, who was sent off late on at Old Trafford.
It leaves Hasenhuttl struggling to get a team out this weekend. He is likely to still be without trio Theo Walcott, Oriol Romeu and Ibrahima Diallo who limped off early last weekend against Aston Villa.
Defenders Kyle Walkers-Peters and Jannik Westergaard are also injured, as is last season's top scorer Michael Obafemi. Nathan Tella and Mohamed Salisu are also missing, along with long-term absentee William Smallbone.
So depleted were Southampton at Old Trafford, that only Nathan Redmond out of the outfield substitutes had started a Premier League game, while Hasenhuttl had to name two goalkeepers on the bench to make up the numbers.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe could call on deadline day signing Takumi Minamino for the Newcastle game, however, having signed the forward from Liverpool to bolster his squad.
Southampton have now lost their last four Premier League games while Newcastle will be looking to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace.
Hasenhuttl, who had to pick his players up after a 9-0 defeat last season as well, against Leicester City, admitted he doesn’t have many options to change this for the Newcastle clash.
"We lost again in a horrible way,” he said. “The same story: one man down and 90 minutes can be long.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"The lads had no alternatives - no players on the bench, no alternatives to defend better. In the end, it's a different situation to the first time.
"It hurts more to have this result again. But the team is a different one now and we've had a good season so far. Let's see how the season ends."