CLAUDE Puel is facing the biggest gamble of his Saints tenure as he prepares to field an inexperienced side against Norwich in the FA Cup.

It is understood Puel is ready to name a youthful starting 11 in the third round tie - despite the inherent risk of suffering four straight defeats.

Saints can scarcely afford to suffer a banana skin loss at Carrow Road.

Their confidence is already rock bottom after losing three on the bounce in the Premier League.

The St Mary's chief will not want to head into arguably the biggest game of his reign, against Liverpool in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg at St Mary's on Wednesday, on the back of another demoralising set back.

But it is expected that Puel is willing to take a risk and use the club's youngsters against the Championship side.

Jack Stephens made his debut in the Premier League at Everton last time out and he will likely get the nod.

The 22-year-old was solid on his bow, despite Saints losing 3-0.

Fellow academy graduates Harrison Reed, Josh Sims and Jake Hesketh will also be primed for action.

And Sam McQueen may well keep his place for a third successive game.

With the Liverpool match looming large on the horizon, there is a school of thought that says getting any type of win after such a drab run is a priority.

That would mean playing the club's strongest team at Norwich, with an eye on taking a confidence boosting victory.

But Puel, as he has done throughout his time at Saints, is unlikely to deviate from his usual rotating methods.

It has worked before in the EFL Cup, with youthful teams beating Crystal Palace and Sunderland.

And it could well work again at Norwich.

But unlike the Palace and Black Cats triumphs, there is a definite risk to the Frenchman playing a young team.

The team are in turmoil and just need to stop the rot in any way possible.

The Canaries will be no pushovers either.

They may have lost eight of their last 12 games, but recovered with a 3-0 win against Derby County last time out thanks to a Nelson Oliveira hat-trick.

A triumph at Norwich would mark the end of a terrible run ahead of a crucial game for Saints.

But they'll have to do it with out some of their experienced heads.