Southampton moved up to ninth in the Championship table this week as they beat Alex Neil’s Stoke City 1-0 away from home on Tuesday night.
The Saints have now won back-to-back league matches for the second time this season, having beaten Leeds United 3-1 last weekend at St. Mary’s, and will now be hoping to carry on this form.
Russell Martin’s men had lost four straight games prior to the victory against Daniel Farke’s side and now have the opportunity to head into the international break on a high with a win against Hull City on Saturday.
Southampton’s four-match losing streak | |
|---|---|
Opponent | Result |
Sunderland | 5-0 |
Leicester | 4-1 |
Ipswich | 1-0 |
Middlesbrough | 2-1 |
Southampton are only outside of the top-six on goal difference as it stands and could go into the break in a play-off position if results go their way this weekend, which would put some of the doom and gloom from earlier in the season to bed.
However, that is not to say that all of the club’s issues have been solved as there were still some concerning signs throughout the win against Stoke.
How did Southampton perform against Stoke?
Southampton controlled 58% of the possession and claimed all three points thanks to a stunning free-kick from Scotland international Stuart Armstrong.
However, they only created 0.97 xG, to Stoke’s 0.72, and had six fewer shots than the hosts, as per Sofascore, as they struggled to consistently create high-quality chances in the final third.
To put that into more context, they scored three goals from 1.48 xG in their win over Leeds, which suggests that they have significantly outperformed their expected output in front of goal over the last two matches.
Martin may hope that his side can create better opportunities with greater regularity over the weeks and months to come and getting the best out of Che Adams could be key to that.
Charly Alcaraz operated as a false nine against Leeds and Stoke and the lack of a natural number nine was evident as the Saints were forced to check back and play infield after getting into promising positions only to look up and see that no one was in the box.
The Argentine was dropping deep to collect the ball and make things happen in midfield and that created space for Adam Armstrong to exploit out wide, but the skipper had no target to hit within the penalty area and had to play backwards.
Alcaraz did make some runs in behind to stretch the Stoke defence and found himself in advanced positions. However, Kamaldeen Sulemana, on the left flank, was not busting a gut to get into a goalscoring position.
Where should Adams play for Southampton?
Martin has showcased, with Alcaraz and Armstrong, his willingness to try players in different positions in order to make the most of their skillset to suit the team’s tactics and he could utilise Adams in a left wing position.
The Scotland international, who is a centre-forward by trade, has played over 40 matches as a winger in his career, with 21 on the left side, and could be deployed there as part of a fluid attacking set-up against Hull on Saturday.
He could use his work rate to track back and help Ryan Manning out when needed and then use his natural instincts to know when to invert into a central position to make runs into the space that is created by Alcaraz dropping deep to drag defenders out of the way.
This would then provide the ex-River Plate star and Armstrong with a reliable attacking outlet through the middle of the pitch in certain situations, rather than being left with no choice but to pass back.
Sulemana started on the left against Stoke on Tuesday and the Ghana international does not offer a significant goal threat to make up for the lack of a natural number nine.
The former Rennes forward has scored two goals in 23 matches in all competitions for the Saints since his move to St. Mary’s during the January transfer window, which shows that he is not a regular goalscorer.
How many Championship goals has Adams scored?
Adams, on the other hand, has plundered 37 goals in 124 Championship matches throughout his career and 25 in his last 54 outings in the division.
The English-born finisher, who scored 22 goals in 46 second-tier matches for Birmingham during the 2018/19 campaign, has produced three goals and two assists in four league starts so far this season.
He has showcased his quality in front of goal, as a scorer and a creator, in his limited minutes on the pitch for Martin and should now be unleashed from the start as part of this new-look set-up for the Scottish head coach.
As per FBref, Adams ranks within the top 6% of his positional peers for Expected Assists per 90 (0.26) and the top 12% for shot-creating actions per 90 (2.59). This suggests that there are not many better centre-forwards in the Championship at creating opportunities for their teammates than the Saints star.
The 27-year-old ace, who was once dubbed “clever” by pundit and former Rangers striker Ally McCoist, also ranks within the top 6% of players in his position for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.60).
These statistics suggest that the potential is there for Adams to be an outstanding forward at this level, as someone who can score and create goals on a regular basis, and this new system could get the best out of him by using Alcaraz’s movement to create space for him to run in behind.
The opportunities that it creates for Armstrong out wide could also allow Adams to either thrive off the service that can be produced from the wing, or the 5 foot 9 gem could use his creativity to create opportunities for his captain.
Journalist Benjy Nurick claimed that the ex-Birmingham striker was “on fire” in 2022 and Martin now has the chance to reignite that flame this season.
The former Swansea tactician could get the best out of Adams by unleashing him out wide alongside Alcaraz and Armstrong in attack against Hull, which is why the forward should be named in the starting XI this weekend.
