Southampton’s impressive sequence of results in the Championship continued against the Robins mid-week, Russell Martin’s Saints getting the better of Bristol City 1-0 in midweek to make it seven wins from their last ten games in the division.
Slowly but surely sneaking up the league standings, the ultimate aim for Martin’s side is to instantly return to the top-flight after a disastrous bottom-of-the-table finish in the Premier League last campaign.
Despite Southampton overcoming the Robins by the one goal on Wednesday night – Kyle Walker-Peters’ sumptuous strike breaking the deadlock – the Saints boss could still be tempted to tinker with his line-up for his side’s match against Cardiff City today.
Ex Rennes winger Kameldeen Sulemana looks likely to drop out for this match, coming off injured in the first half for his promotion-chasing employers.
Sulemana’s game in numbers vs Bristol City
Scoring two goals for the Saints in the Premier League before this campaign, the Ghanaian attacker is yet to get off the mark for his side in the second tier.
Hauled off by his manager on the 35th-minute mark after picking up a knock, Sulemana did leave a lasting impression despite only featuring briefly.
He showed flashes of his brilliance against the Robins at St Mary’s when on the pitch, Sulemana 100% accurate with his dribble attempts on the night, as per Sofascore, with the winger twisting and turning Bristol City shirts trying to contain him for fun.
Moreover, Southampton’s number 20 did attempt to break his goalscoring duck for the season with Sulemana registering one on target shot in the game.
Sulemana and his club will hope that this injury concern isn’t anything serious, but leaving him out of the line-up for the game at home to Cardiff feels like a necessary precautionary measure.
Whereas, Martin could surprisingly axe first-team stalwart Stuart Armstrong for the game against the Bluebirds for tactical reasons – the Scottish creator largely quiet in the narrow home win against Bristol City.
Stuart Armstrong’s game in numbers vs Bristol City
Armstrong was also substituted off in this close game at St Mary’s, Martin unimpressed by his usually dependable midfield star’s performance.
Once labelled as “smooth” by his manager when speaking about his ability on the ball, Armstrong was anything but that on a poor night against Bristol.
Uncharacteristically, the Scotsman lost possession 19 times in the centre of the park with Flynn Downes and Shea Charles having to work doubly hard to ensure the Saints weren’t exposed as a result of Armstrong’s wayward passing.
Downes, in contrast, was 96% accurate with his passing on the night and shone where Armstrong faltered.
Southampton’s number 17 was also weak entering into duels on top of his passive demeanour on the ball, winning only 30% of his ground duels in the closely fought contest.
Manchester City recruit Charles ensured the Saints had a battler in the midfield trio thankfully for Martin’s men, winning seven of his nine ground duels to further expose Armstrong’s frailities.
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Armstrong could be dropped by Martin after this rare below-par performance, giving ex-Rangers man Joe Aribo a potential start over the former Dundee United man.
Regardless of who features and doesn’t feature, Martin will just keep his fingers crossed that his Saints team can pick up another victory to add to their ever-increasing season tally against Cardiff.
