Southampton boss Claude Puel rests four of his key men for Europa League trip
Saints will be without Jose Fonte, Charlie Austin, Ryan Bertrand and Steven Davis for Hapoel Be’er Sheva clash
SOUTHAMPTON manager Claude Puel will leave four of his key men at home for Thursday’s Europa League clash with Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
The Saints travel to Israel hoping to build on their winning start to European competition – but they will have to do so without their full squad.
Puel has revealed that club captain Jose Fonte, hotshot striker Charlie Austin, full-back Ryan Bertrand and midfielder Steven Davis will miss out as his side look to build on their 3-0 victory over Sparta Prague in their opening match a fortnight ago.
He said: “Some players stay at home, because with the travel they won’t recover.
“We have another game against Leicester on Sunday and it’s important to consider this game also to try to have a good result every time.
Related Stories
“Charlie has stayed at home, and also José Fonte, Ryan Bertrand and Steven Davis.
“For this game, it’s important to also take the two games together, as a few days after we are playing again, so we have to manage all of the players.
“All the players are ready to play with good energy and for me that’s very important.”
Puel will also be without duo Jay Rodriguez and Sofiane Boufal.
He added: “It’s just Jay and Sofiane who are injured for this game.
“After that, the rest of the players here have the possibility to play, but of course we haven’t got all the players here with us.”
Southampton completed the first leg of a 4,000 miles round trip to the Middle East yesterday to one of the furthest outposts in the Europa League.
Israel champions have not lost in 17 games since moving to their new stadium on the fringes of the Negev Desert a year ago.
Oriol Romeu’s dad has his Champions League winners medal from 2012 when he was with Chelsea but was an unused sub in that final and is desperate to see a campaign all the way through.
The Belgian said: “I remember the Champions League final with Chelsea, I was on the bench, and we won, but I didn't play in the semi-final, didn't play the final.
“You feel part of it, and you feel proud of yourself and your team-mates, but in your mind it's 'I want to win it one day being there, being on the pitch.
“The supporters from Southampton deserve something nice and we would like to give it to them. We have a very strong squad, and we are here to win things. The squad is very competitive. We all want to get something big, and we are working for it.”
Watch ALL the goals from the Premier League before anyone else for FREE plus all the latest news, fixtures and results and live match commentary all on the go with the new Sun Football App –