With Ralph Hasenhuttl missing Kyle Walker Peters for the visit of Chelsea and no other specialist right back at the club, the question is whether the Austrian will reshuffle or reshape his line up.
A month ago Saints were in the depths of an injury and suspension crisis meaning that they were so short of players they actually names two goalkeepers on the subs bench, that injury crisis has eased and Ralph Hasenhuttl has a reasonable core of players to call upon at the moment, but he is short in key areas and one of those areas is full back on either side where he only has Kyle Walker Peters on the right and Ryan Bertrand on the left as specialist full backs. Although Jack Stephens can play in either position if called upon.
He does have others who can play there, but it will weaken the balance of the team if he has to drop James Ward Prowse into defence or even the likes of Stuart Armstrong.
But there is another option than reshuffling and that is reshaping, with Mohammed Salisu now fit and having come through a decent debut in the FA Cup game against Wolves, Hasenhuttl could opt to play a back three and revert to a formation that in his first year at the club he was fond of deploying, both from the start of games and even switching to it during them.
The defeat at home to Leicester City last season saw Ralph realise that he didn't have the personnel to play that formation and he went back to basics with a solid 4-4-2 that he has stuck with ever since.
To call it rigid would be unfair, Saints have tweaked the shape of that line up during games, but essentially it kept a shape that the players could adapt to.
Back in December he probably thought that he was starting to get a squad together that he could maximise it's potential with, but injury has ravaged it, some Saints supporters moan about the lack of a plan B , but truth is Hasenhuttl is too experienced a coach not to have other plans, at the moment he just hasn't got the numbers and experienced players to change much.
But now it seems he might, ironically the lack of a right back means he has to have a rethink and ahead of the game against Chelsea he has given a clue to what might be in his plans.
When asked about the possibility of changing formation Hasenhuttl said:
"Everything is possible.
"Whenever we have played a 4-2-2-2 is it possible to change the shape.
"You want to bring the best players on the pitch and if you have no player in one position then it is always an option to think about a change of shape.
"The most important thing is that you bring the best players on the pitch, this is why we changed to a 4-2-2-2, because we had so many offensive players and we had no positions for them.
"This is why we are always open-minded for everything.”
With no midweek fixture, Hasenhuttl has had time able to work with his side on the training ground and it seems that he has worked more on the tactical side of things than physical effort which could lead to injury:
The Saints boss also pointed out that during games although the shape is 4-4-2, it reverts in and out of differing formations as the situation dictates:
"When we build up with the ball we play as a three sometimes.
"This is not something that is too difficult to change quickly. Especially when you have a week to prepare, it is possible to play as back five, definitely."
So it seems that this is an idea that Ralph is considering.
As I see it i would surmise that he is thinking along these lines.
A back three of Bednarek, Vestergaard and Salisu.
Stuart Armstrong on the right and Ryan Bertrand on the left as wing backs as such.
A central three of Oriol Romeu and James Ward Prowse holding the midfield with Tukami Minamino playing just in front of the two strikers, Danny Ings and Che Adams, although the latter might still find Nathan Redmond preferred.
That will still leave a few options on the bench, Redmond, Djenepo & Stephens provide experienced cover in all three areas and then you will have the u and coming Nathan Tella and Dan N'Lundulu and finally a few youngsters.
Obviously the bench isn't as strong as it could be, but it will mean that we do have three substitutions that could adapt and also change the game.
We would obviously prefer to be making these changes against a lesser team than Chelsea, but these are desperate times at the moment, truth is we have to try something to break the run of defeats and this game is as good as any.