Saints fans are set to get their first glimpse of record signing Jay Rodriguez.

The £7m striker, signed from Burnley this summer, is make his St Mary’s bow during tomorrow’s Markus Liebherr Memorial Trophy.

Nigel Adkins is expected to follow the same format as last season and field a different side for both of the 45-minute matches against Anderlecht and Arsenal.

The Saints squad have been back in pre-season training for a couple of weeks and have been doing ball work as well as fitness drills.

However, this will be their first taste of competitive action since finishing the season at the end of April.

So Adkins will be wary of not throwing players too much into the fray immediately.

That means he faces a decision on how best to spilt his squad between the two games, but can at least use 22 players as a bare minimum.

Saints will be hoping they can also field their other new summer signing, Steven Davis.

The central midfielder joined on a three-year deal after rejecting the chance to have his contract transferred to a newco Rangers.

However, the move has got mired in some red tape after the SFA refused to grant an international transfer certificate.

The matter is now with FIFA who are expected to grant a temporary licence to allow Davis to continue with Saints while they rule on the wider matters.

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