SAINTS manager Russell Martin labelled Tuesday's Carabao Cup clash with Stoke City "the most important game" of the season so far.

Martin insists he will name "the strongest team available in terms of fitness and readiness" with the competition's quarter-final up for grabs.

Saints host Championship strugglers Stoke on Tuesday off the back of four consecutive Premier League defeats, leaving Martin's side bottom.

The St Mary's outfit reached the semi-final of the Carabao Cup during the 2022/23 season, in which they were eventually relegated out of the top flight.

However, Martin knows it is an opportunity for a much-needed win and to create a positive spin ahead of massive fixtures with Everton and Wolves.

"I think it's the most important game we've had this season. We need to try and win to get to a quarter-final of a cup," Martin told the Daily Echo.

"We'll play the strongest team available to us in terms of fitness and readiness. It's a big, big game for us so there definitely won't be 11 changes.

"There will be some, such is the nature of it. We have two big games after but this is the most important one. We'll play the team we feel is most ready to win."

Stoke sit 19th in the second tier with 12 points from 12 matches, although they did thump Portsmouth 6-1 at the beginning of October.

Yukinari Sugawara was left as an unused substitute for the 1-0 defeat at champions Manchester City on Saturday, having picked up a knock in his last outing.

The Japanese will start against Stoke if declared fit, while the likes of Flynn Downes, Adam Lallana and Tyler Dibling are chief candidates for rest.

It could mean an opportunity for the likes of Adam Armstrong, whose only start since August came in the previous round of the cup at Everton.

Nathan Wood, Ronnie Edwards, Ben Brereton Diaz and Sam Amo-Ameyaw all completed 90 minutes for the under-21s on Friday, while defender Charlie Taylor came off at half-time of the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace with a niggle.

"I think it's going to be big for all of us, not just the players coming into the team," said Martin, reverting focus to the cup match.

"We'll show them all the stuff from Manchester City that they did so brilliantly and show them some stuff we need to improve on.

"Then we need to put it into practice at home where the expectation is a bit different - because those are the games that are going to be so important to us."