Southampton predicted lineup vs Norwich City: Cam Bragg dropped?

Southampton predicted lineup vs Norwich City. Saints boss Tonda Eckert to drop Cam Bragg for must-win Championship game.

Three months ago, Southampton played Norwich City while sitting 9th in the Championship table. The Saints were clawing their way back to the top 6 under Tonda Eckert and were massive favourites to pick up the three points from Norwich.

Well, that didn’t go to plan. Jovon Makama scored a brace and dashed Southampton’s hopes of reaching the playoffs spots by January. Today, the Saints are back in the hunt to jump to sixth spot.

Wrexham’s 3-1 humiliation at Watford has made the playoffs task plain simple for Southampton. Win all the 9 games left, and Tonda Eckert’s men will need no help from rivals to see them through to the playoffs. Beating Norwich City at home would be just the perfect start Southampton can ask for during this business end of the season.

Can the Saints get a win tonight? Yes, but a lot of that will rest on how Tonda Eckert picks the starting eleven for the Norwich clash. That said, below is the strongest Southampton predicted lineup that can get the job done tonight at St. Mary’s.

Southampton predicted lineup vs Norwich City

GK: Daniel Peretz

Daniel Peretz made a brilliant finger-tip save at Coventry in the crucial 2-1 win which is being talked as arguably the best save of the Championship season. Didn’t got the clean sheet there, let’s hope he can record that tonight vs Norwich.

LB: Ryan Manning

Norwich’s build up play has improved in recent weeks thanks to star players like Anis Slimane and Ali Ahmed. It’ll be tough for Manning to shut down attacks from his flank but Welington’s injury doesn’t leave Eckert with much choices.

CB: Taylor Harwood-Bellis

Southampton have only conceded from a penalty and a clumsy goal in the past two games. Tonight will be a tricky challenge for Taylor Harwood-Bellis while coming up against Jovon Makama who scored two in the reverse fixture. Let’s see if he can keep his strong form going.

CB: Jack Stephens

Jack Stephens is ahead of Nathan Wood and Joshua Quarshie in the pecking order, as things stand. He will definitely start.

RB: James Bree

James Bree wasn’t on the Southampton team sheet when they lost to Norwich in December. With Bree in superb form both in attack and defence, its easy to see him becoming the difference-maker for Tonda Eckert’s side once again.

CM: Flynn Downes

The “little Alan Shearer” is probably in his best Southampton form ever since the successful Championship campaign under Russell Martin two years ago.

Downes does the dirty work in midfield and drives passes up front to start Southampton attacks. Today, St. Mary’s needs another Downes masterclass to prevail over Norwich and climb to sixth position.

CAM: Finn Azaz

Has a match-winning goal against Norwich City to his name this season. That came when Azaz was playing for Middlesbrough in a 2-1 win. Without Leo Scienza and Stewart, Southampton will need Azaz to come on the scoresheet again in front of the high-flying Canaries.

CM: Caspar Jander

Cam Bragg is a generational midfield talent at his age. No doubt in that. However, he quickly got exhausted in the 2-1 Coventry win around the hour mark.

Norwich is another demanding game, and it comes after only 3 days. Hence, Tonda should stick with Caspar Jander to partner Azaz and Downes in the three man midfield setup.

LW: Samuel Edozie

Samuel Edozie had a hand in Cyle Larin’s late 1-1 West Brom equaliser last Wednesday. It remains to be seen if Edozie can contribute more in terms of attacking output, possibly get his first goal of the season in a must-win Norwich City clash.

ST: Cyle Larin

Cyle Larin has bagged three crucial goals for Southampton so far. A fourth one tonight vs Norwich City can put Saints in the front seat to reach playoffs and potentially, the Premier League.

RW: Kuryu Matsuki

Got a cheeky tap-in at Coventry City and was energetic throughout the final third. Getting the 1-0 goal early will make things easier for Southampton and Matsuki’s intensity can help there.