Saints travel the short journey along the M27 to Brighton to meet the Seagulls at the AMEX Stadium, a fourth straight win ? That'll do nicely !

It was perhaps hoped by Saints supporters that there might be a new name or two in the side for the trip to Brighton, however the signing of Ryan Bertrand from Chelsea on Wednesday may have come a little late for him to play much of a part if any in the game, however the big question will be whether Morgan Schneiderlin features in any way shape or form.

Apart from that though this will be another step forward in what is a very structured pre season schedule where with each game we up the ante a little bit, again though the focus will be on fitness and getting the squad playing together although in some respects this may well be a somewhat fruitless excercise in that if Ralph Krueger is to be believed within the next week we will have 3 or 4 players who we will need to be bedding in fast.

But for the meantime Ronald Koeman can only work with what he has and in that respect he has to keep blooding the youngsters and giving them vital experience that will stand them in good stead should they be needed in the current season.

Brighton themselves have suffered turmoil in the summer for a second successive year again losing a manager and a play off semi final, add to that the departure of several key players including last seasons top scorer Leo Ulloa they too are a team in rebuilding mode.

One person who probably won't be looking forward to the trip is Sammy Lee, the new Saints coach had agreed to join his former Liverpool colleague and new Brighton manager Sami Hypia at the Amex and only a day after agreeing did an about turn and headed for St Mary's, it will add up to a harsh reception from what is expected to be a fairly low crowd of around 6,000.

Saints fans wanting to go can buy tickets from St Mary's for £14 up till midday Thursday, although they will be available on the turnstile on the night.

Photo: Action Images

slynch added 21:58 - Jul 30 A win will keep Saints at the top of the league. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2710824/Southampton-pre-season Will Bertrand be able to play?
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