Southampton: Matchday round-up

Southampton has had to combat a heavy run of fixtures over the month of January and with options limited at centre back, the often injured Florin Gardos could be set to make his first appearance since February 2015. (Daily Echo)

Arsenal’s Danny Welback, who made his comeback following a knee injury in the previous round of the FA Cup, is in contention to start against Southampton. (Mirror)

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will be banned from the touchline on Saturday and for another three games afterward for accepting a misconduct charge, which occurred last weekend. (Daily Echo)

Wenger, however, praised Southampton’s academy ahead of the clash at St Mary’s. (London Evening Standard)

Saints manager Claude Puel intends to keep the belief in his youngsters with injuries piling up. (ESPN FC)

Shane Long’s winner at Anfield in the EFL Cup has revealed Liverpool’s weakness, suggests David Purcell. (Liverpool Echo)

Southampton defeated Liverpool across two legs to reach their first major final since 2003 and fans celebrated by painting stripes on post boxes. (BBC Sport)

According to reports, Southampton has increased their bid for Napoli’s Manolo Gabbiadini to £15.2m. (talkSPORT)

Southampton has reportedly opened up loan talks to bring Spartak Moscow’s Serdar Tasci to St Mary’s to add depth to their defensive ranks. (Daily Mail)

There are also rumours that Saints are interested in a loan deal for Real Madrid’s Marinao Diaz with numerous clubs interested. (Fichajes)

Southampton owner Katharina Liebherr penned a letter assuring fans a Chinese sale wouldn’t harm the club’s progress. (Telegraph)