Russell Martin has the unenviable task of selecting the most important team of his short managerial career as Southampton face Leeds United in the Championship play-off final.
The Wembley clash kicks off at 3pm on Sunday and Martin will likely now know exactly which 11 players he will be sending out in a bid to secure a return to the Premier League.
Leeds will be playing in their all white home strip as the nominated ‘home’ team, whilst Southampton will play in their black third kit in the fixture widely dubbed the ‘most expensive game in football’ due to the financial rewards for victory.
Southampton have the psychological edge of knowing they have already beaten Leeds twice this season, with the significance of their win away at Elland Road on the final day of the regular season not yet clear.
Martin has some big decisions to make in terms of personnel, but will be without some key players due to injury.
Southampton injury news for Leeds
Firstly, Gavin Bazunu, Stuart Armstrong and Juan Larios will all miss out at Wembley with the trio long-term absentees.
The biggest question going into the final is whether Che Adams will be fit.
The striker limped off against Leeds just three weeks ago and has not featured since despite Martin suggesting at the time the substitution that day was merely a precaution.
Ahead of both legs of the semi-final against West Brom the Saints boss implied Adams would be fit to return but he remained absent from the squad in the second leg last Friday.
Whether that was mind games from Martin or he genuinely did think he would be able to call on the 27-year-old is unclear, however the Scotland international was pictured in training on Thursday and the noise coming out of the club suggests he will be fit to feature.
The only other concern is Ross Stewart, who has missed the majority of the season through injury.
The centre-forward played for half an hour in the first leg against West Brom – his longest Southampton appearance – but was an unused substitute in the second with Martin citing a knock he sustained days prior as the reason he would only have been used as a last resort.
With over a week since that game Stewart should be fine to take up a spot on the bench against Leeds.
Southampton predicted XI v Leeds
Martin has two big decisions to make ahead of the final.
The first is what system he uses, having recently enjoyed success playing a 3-5-2 shape but using both a back three and a 4-3-3 at times in the 3-1 win over West Brom.
The second revolves around the fitness of Adams and whether he disrupts the side that has navigated the play-offs so far and the impact this could make on the tactical set up given Ryan Fraser switched seamlessly between left wing and wing-back throughout the West Brom win.
Starting from the back, though, Alex McCarthy will continue to deputise for Bazunu in goal in what is likely his last game for the club given his imminent contract expiry.
Southampton will want to take the initiative against Leeds and that could mean we see a back four.
That would mean Kyle Walker-Peters at right-back, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jan Bednarek at centre-back and Jack Stephens as an auxiliary left-back.
Ahead of them the midfield will also be the same, with Flynn Downes at the base and Will Smallbone and Joe Aribo ahead of him.
The front three depends on what Martin decides is the best course of action regarding Adams.
If Adams had been fit against West Brom, Martin may have been minded to stick with the 3-5-2 formation that allows both Adams and Adam Armstrong to play centrally as a strike partnership.
However, the absence of Adams opened the door for wingers Fraser and David Brooks to come into the side and both were impressive as Saints triumphed.
Martin has been full of praise for Fraser this season, saying in January: “He was really good, really brilliant. He has such an amazing attitude and is a good example for the young boys.
Therefore, with Adams potentially not 100% match fit it could make sense for Martin to play Fraser and trust the same side that played so well at St Mary’s to do the business at Wembley.
With that in mind, here is how Southampton are expected to line up against Leeds on Sunday:
Southampton XI (4-3-3): McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Downes, Smallbone, Aribo; Brooks, A. Armstrong, Fraser