Southampton: Ralph must start Romain Perraud against Burnley | OneFootball

With their first Premier League win of the season now under their belts with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United last weekend, Southampton are back in action on Saturday with a home clash against Burnley on the horizon.

In his latest press conference ahead of their match against Sean Dyche’s side, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed that defender Jack Stephens is the only player unavailable for the game at the weekend with Che Adams returning after missing out last weekend.

On the chalkboard

Taking this into account, one player that we feel should be in the starting XI against Burnley is left-back Romain Perraud.

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Perraud started the match against Leeds last time out where he proved highly dependable.

He managed to make three tackles, one clearance and one interception as he was victorious from six out of nine defensive duels he was involved in. Also taking a shot at goal too, his performance ultimately earned him a strong overall match rating of 7.2/10 according to SofaScore.

This shows that the full-back repaid the faith that Hasenhuttl showed in the full-back after being an unused substitute in their two league games before the Leeds victory against Wolves and Chelsea which both ended in defeats for the Saints.

Southampton signed the Frenchman during the summer transfer window from French club Stade Brest on a four-year deal. Since arriving at the club, the 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £9m according to Transfermarkt, has made just six appearances for the south-coast side across all competitions, having yet to fully cement himself as a regular starter for the team.

Should Perraud start against Burnley?

Yes

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No

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Despite this, the defender has still managed to rack up an average of 1.8 tackles per game, 1.4 clearances per game and 1.2 interceptions per game, proving himself to be a useful defensive figure for the Saints.

Football FanCast, he clearly has the ability to make a real difference at St Mary’s.

Moving forward, whether Hasenhuttl sticks with Perraud in his starting XI or not, this next match is still a good opportunity for Southampton to get another three points on the board to get away from the likes of Burnley towards the bottom of the league table. We feel the player in question would definitely help them do that.