THINGS will look very different when Saints take to their Boxing Day game this year to how they did exactly 12 months ago.

Nathan Jones is the new manager and the clash with Brighton & Hove Albion will be only his second with the club, and first in front of his home supporters.

He is supported by a cast of coaches you might not have recognised in 2021. Andrew Sparkes, goalkeeper specialist, remains, but everybody else is new.

Ruben Selles has been working with this group of players since the summer, as has former under-18s coach Carl Martin, while Chris Cohen and Alex Sheehan are Jones’s men.

Read more: When does the January transfer window open and close for Saints?

Ralph Hasenhuttl, Richard Kitzbichler, Dave Watson and Kelvin Davis delivered a Christmas gift with a 3-2 win at West Ham United. The Premier League will be merely entertainment for them now.

Daily Echo: Ralph Hasenhuttl admits he was entertained by his Saints side as they edged past West Ham on Boxing Day (Pic: PA)

Saints no longer wear red and white stripes. They were wearing yellow and blue at London Stadium anyway, but this time it will be a majority white strip.

The atmosphere will be different, too. Saints might sit second-from-bottom and stare down relegation to the Championship, but a managerial change brings renewed enthusiasm.

Some are sceptical and it is fair to be so; this is Jones’s first Premier League gig. The players are the most important aspect.  They too look a little bit different to 12 months ago.

Let us take a look at the starting XI from London Stadium last year. Hasenhuttl deployed a 4-1-4-1 almost exclusively against West Ham and to his credit, it was hugely successful on three occasions.

Daily Echo:

Of that team, Fraser Forster, Oriol Romeu, Nathan Redmond and on-loan Armando Broja have left the club permanently. Jan Bednarek is on loan himself at Aston Villa.

At most, we can expect four or five of those starters to keep their place 12 months on. Mohammed Salisu and James Ward-Prowse are shoo-ins.

Kyle Walker-Peters will start if he is fit to do so, and he should be, while Tino Livramento needs more time. Moi Elyounoussi and Ibrahima Diallo are available, as is Theo Walcott.

Here is how we think Saints could line up to face Brighton, although the EFL Cup game against Lincoln City that comes first on Wednesday, December 21, could give more clues.

Daily Echo:

Jones is said to have been focussing on 3-5-2 during the winter training camp in Andalucia, Spain. However, this does not mean they will definitely start this way.

Looking at the personnel available to Saints, and despite the way it did not work under Hasenhuttl at the start of this season, it looks the most viable way to set up.

Supporters will worry where exactly the goals are going to come from. In his post-match press conference at Anfield, Jones told us not to worry – all his strikers score goals.

You always feel you could do with a Broja supporting Adams, and that alone would make it look a really strong lineup. Striker will be the target in the upcoming window.

Which of the two XIs do you think is better? The likes of Armel Bella-Kotchap and Romeo Lavia are upgrades on their counterparts.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.