Saint Albert

Davis' confidence seems to evaporate as he approaches the opposing penalty area....

Saints break well but Austin is offside...not sure if he was though

No personnel changes at halftime.

I thought that Saints had some decent moments particularly down the left flank with Redmond and Bertrand. Davis and Yoshi were important in defence. FF isn't very good at goal kicks. Stoke grew into the game a bit towards the last fifteen mins or so. Random observation: Did the pitch design around the centre circle remind anyone else of the universal biohazard symbol?

HT 0-0.

Redmond hits the crossbar with the keeper off the line!

Davis with some excellent defending again. And Saints head it off the line!

Nice intervention by Davis as Shaqiri shoots.

Bertrand almost sets up Austin but it goes wide

Yoshi is back up...result is a Stoke corner

Bloody hell Cedric almost let Crouch in, great intervention by Yoshi...Yoshida may be injured saving Cedric's bacon

A JWP free kick creates a bit of a scramble in the Stoke penalty box but they clear eventually

It's on TV where I am...

Saints are giving Stoke all kinds of problems down the left. Bertrand and Redmond linking together nicely.

A bright start by the Saints.

He kept his eyes off the interviewer's logo throughout the interview, even when she attempted to draw his attention to it. He's got willpower, that Puel...

Just in case the home supporters come across curiously attired Stoke fans on Sunday, I read somewhere that Crouchie has promised to give his match shirt away to a visiting fan that turns up in his speedos. I don't get the connection between match shirts and budgie smugglers myself, but there you go.

Not the words of a manger who will be leaving next week by mutual consent: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/claude-puel-insists-hell-still-10458554

What you talking about, Benjii? I somehow felt that it needed to be said.

I await a tapping up complaint.

It would be handy if we could keep all of the Puel out stuff to one convenient thread.

For home league wins in 2017, Palace and Leicester spring to mind.

Mirror thinks that player unrest will be the final nail in Puel's coffin: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/southampton-boss-claude-puel-looks-10450641

Saints in "pole position" to sign R. Semedo according to this: http://sportwitness.co.uk/southampton-leading-race-sign-defender-everton-stoke-well/

According to the Sun, which bases its story on reports from Germany, Chelsea will sell Christensen to B. Monchengladbach if they get VVD: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/3591223/chelsea-sell-andreas-christensen-borussia-monchengladbach-17m-virgil-van-dijk/