Southampton are preparing for the second leg of their play-off semi-final with West Brom on Friday night.
After the two sides played out a 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns on Sunday, both sides know that whoever wins on the night at St Mary’s will secure their spot in the Wembley final on 26th May.
Southampton will know their potential play-off final opponents before their crunch match with West Brom, with Leeds United and Norwich City playing out their deciding tie a day earlier.
The first leg was a cagey affair as neither side wanted to give up control so early in the tie, but both goalkeepers made good saves to ensure the game ended goalless.
Both sides have injury concerns ahead of Friday night, with Southampton in particular sweating on the fitness of a key man.
Che Adams – Injury latest
Che Adams has been a man in form recently – providing nine goal contributions in his last 14 games – and he was sorely missed on Sunday.
The striker had come off in the 61st minute against Leeds in the final game of the regular season, but manager Russell Martin insisted after that game that his withdrawal had merely been a precautionary measure with the play-offs in mind.
Therefore, it was a real surprise when Adams was not deemed fit to make the squad for the first leg and the Saints struggled as Sekou Mara failed to make an impact in his place.
Following the first leg, Martin has explained that it would have been a risk to play Adams that day but was optimistic about a return for Friday, saying: “I think there was hope he would be ready for this one but the risk outweighs the reward today.
“It is quite soon after the game. He’s been working. He’s been doing everything he possibly can.
“We’ll get him on a training pitch in the next couple of days and then see how he reacts and adapts to that because he’s important.”
Expected return: West Brom (17th)
Ross Stewart – Injury latest
Ross Stewart has missed almost the entirety of his first season at Southampton following his £10 million summer move from Sunderland.
The 27-year-old arrived at the Saints with an achilles injury and did not make his debut until November; coincidentally against West Brom.
In the following game against Huddersfield Town Stewart picked up a hamstring problem that kept him out until the Leeds game on the final day.
Stewart is desperate to put his injury woes behind him and contribute to his new club and made decent strides to being able to do that with his longest appearance in a Saints shirt in the first leg, playing half an hour.
The Scotland striker was bright and forced a good save from Alex Palmer, leaving fans to question whether he could be ready to start on Friday.
Martin spoke on the potential for the striker to start this week, as he said: “That half an hour for him will be so important in the next step for him, so he’s more ready to start a game for sure.
“We need to make sure we win on Friday to give him another opportunity to be ready for another game, that’s the job at hand.”
Gavin Bazunu – Injury latest
Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu is the first of a trio who will not feature again this season.
The 22-year-old stopper picked up an achilles injury in the warm-up of the 3-0 win over Preston in April and was replaced by Alex McCarthy – despite Joe Lumley being the other ‘keeper named in the match day squad that night.
Bazunu’s injury is a bad one and he is anticipated to be out until well into next season, so McCarthy will continue to deputise after an impressive performance in the first leg.
Expected return: 2024/25 season
Stuart Armstrong – Injury latest
Stuart Armstrong has been influential this season and his experience as the oldest outfield player in the squad is missed as much as his talents on the pitch.
The 32-year-old was stretchered off late in Southampton’s loss to Cardiff City last month and, whilst the quad injury is not as bad as first feared, will not feature again this season.
He maintains a slim chance of being fit to represent Scotland in this summer’s European Championships in Germany but with his contract expiring following the conclusion of the season Armstrong faces an uncertain future.
Expected return: 2024/25 season
Juan Larios – Injury latest
Juan Larios has been through a really tough time with injuries so early in his career, with the 20-year-old not making a single appearance since the 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United in October 2022.
Martin is Southampton’s fourth manager since that day, highlighting just how long the Manchester City academy graduate has been on the sidelines.
The youngster has been back in training since March but will not feature this campaign, with the best course of action considered to be to allow the Spaniard a full pre-season ahead of being reintegrated into the side competitively next campaign.
Expected return: 2024/25 season
West Brom injury news v Southampton
West Brom have less injuries to contend with than Southampton but do have two players who are guaranteed to miss out on Friday.
Long-term absentees Daryl Dike and Jayson Molumby will not feature again this season regardless of whether West Brom make the play-off final.
Dike has featured just four times this season and has undergone surgery on his achilles after rupturing it for the second time in his career.
Molumby also required surgery on a foot issue and has subsequently been absent since early January, so neither his nor Dike’s absence will come as any surprise.
Carlos Corberan may also be without Josh Maja, with the striker returning from injury recently not considered match fit enough to make the squad for the first leg and, with so little time between the two games, unlikely to be able to impact this one.