Southampton are expected to change two places from the side that met Lincoln, and the biggest call is on the right, where Tom Fellows is tipped to start in place of Kuryu Matsuki. Ji-sung Eom, meanwhile, is set for another major step away from club duty after a goal and an assist in successive games, with Wednesday set to send him to the Asian Games.
That is the question now because Southampton go into Southampton vs Swansea with a side that has scored in every league game they have played, while Swansea have conceded one. On paper, that points to a match that could turn on the first clean break down the flank, which is why Fellows matters so much after he scored as a substitute in the 5-1 win over Millwall and later got to the byline to set up Leo Scienza against West Ham.
The expected team is Peretz, Bree, Nathan Wood, Keven Schlotterbeck, Welington, Flynn Downes, Ward-Prowse, Fellows, Azaz, Scienza and Larin. Schlotterbeck is not one of the two changes, which leaves the second adjustment at centre-back, where Nathan Wood could return in place of Jack Stephens. That would keep the defensive shape close to what Tonda Eckert has already trusted, but it also underlines how little room there is for surprise in a squad that is being shaped around a fixed structure.
There is still one selection wrinkle. Zach Abbott could make his debut if Eckert decides he has seen enough from him in training, yet the logic of the predicted XI points the other way: if Wood comes back, Abbott is the one most likely to wait. That fits the broader picture too. Southampton failed to solve Lincoln's block on Saturday and were still hunting the decisive goal by the hour, which is the kind of reminder that a team can dominate the numbers and still need the right final pass or the right run to make it count.
So the immediate answer is that Fellows looks set for the right side, and Southampton are projected to make two changes rather than a full reshuffle. The deeper test arrives at St Mary's, where the next step is not just whether Southampton can keep scoring, but whether Eckert sticks with the more familiar defensive balance or uses the game to hand Abbott a first look.
