James Beavis previews the upcoming Southampton game

How long have you been a Saints fan?

I have been a Southampton supporter for as long as I can possibly remember with both my dad and granddad being big fans.

I went to my first match at The Dell in 1996, aged 6.

This is my second successive year of having a season ticket (I’ve been “treated” to 23 goals in 23 Premier League games in that time) having taken a break since the League One days.

What are your pre-match thoughts on the game against Newcastle?

It might only be October, but for me the Newcastle game already needs to have all those over-dramatic tags placed upon it.

As far as I’m concerned from what I’ve seen so far this season, I fully expect us to be battling against relegation again so there is no getting away from the fact that this match is the proverbial “must-win” as well as being a “six-pointer”.

Of course, with Rafa Benitez’s men struggling as well, this is a real chance to not only gain some momentum going into winnable fixtures against Leicester City and Watford – I’m discounting the Manchester City fixture given their class and our awful record against top-six clubs in recent seasons – but also to put some much-needed breathing space between us and another side that I feel will be fighting the drop with us later in the campaign.

This is a game where the St Mary’s crowd needs to get behind the players from the start and I hope Saints come out of the traps strongly and on the front foot right away to ensure that happens.

Saints fan James Beavis

How would you set the side up for the weekend?

I would like to see us go with a 4-3-3 system that can be adapted to a 4-2-3-1 when we are defending with the following 11 players:

McCarthy; Cedric, Stephens, Hoedt, Bertrand; Lemina, Hojbjerg, Armstrong; Gabbiadini, Ings, Redmond.

This would see Stuart Armstrong, who I feel has been unlucky not to been heavily involved in recent weeks, playing instead of Mo Elyounoussi and just ahead of Hojbjerg and Lemina in the middle.

I’d put Gabbiadini out wide in more of a front three – a position he was often effective for Napoli previously.

I’m not the biggest fan of either Hoedt or Stephens but given their performances last weekend they deserve another shot together in a match where they can conceivably keep another clean sheet.

Who is it a big game for and why?

Jack Stephens, Manolo Gabbiadini and Mark Hughes.

If the former starts again he will have the opportunity to prove to Hughes that he should be featuring regularly alongside Hoedt this season with none of the other centre-backs really impressing right now.

He needs to show the same qualities that he did at the Vitality Stadium – a performance where he proved he has eradicated some of the biggest weaknesses from his game that were often seen last term.

Meanwhile, his Italian teammate desperately needs a goal and there shouldn’t be many better opportunities for him to get back on the scoring trail than at home to a struggling Newcastle side.

I just hope that Hughes starts him ahead of Charlie Austin and Shane Long.

Talking of Hughes, this match is hugely important for him.

He knows that the club’s home form needs to improve and that there are few excuses for Southampton to not be beating this Newcastle team at home.

Because he used to play for us I think the St Mary’s crowd have been slightly lenient with him following some disappointing performances this season.

But it could be a different story if the worst happens on Saturday.

Does this game have the chance to be season-defining for Saints?

I think it can be. It goes without saying that a win would be huge in terms of getting valuable points on the board.

And to take the lead and then actually keep it against a team we should be beating at home should give the side – something we failed to do against either Leicester or Brighton in the league –that big confidence boost that they need for the coming months.

A draw or a loss however would only cement how much trouble we could be in this term, and the latter would surely push Hughes closer to the sack ahead of the daunting trip to Manchester City.

If you want the chance to have your say ahead of a game, contact dan.sheldon@dailyecho.co.uk