Saints here for top clash

They won five of the last six games and have continued with that sort of form this season, only having lost the one game so far, a 2-1 defeat at manager George Burley's former club Ipswich.

It's not just on the field that things have changed for Southampton, for such a long time there have been protests from the fans over their duck shooting chairman Rupert Lowe and he was finally ousted during the summer. He and some of his fellow directors made a quick exit when they realised their number was up and the changes have come quickly since then.

Manager Burley needed to strengthen his squad and he's done that in no uncertain terms, bringing in no fewer than nine new players which started with the capture of Polish striker Grzegorz Rasiak. The forward, who made a major contribution to a Wayne Thomas red card last season when at Derby, was brought in on loan from Spurs last March and Burley moved quickly to sign him on a permanent basis for a £2 million fee.

Another player who ended last season on loan at St Mary's was Jermaine Wright and he too made the move a permanent one in July when he moved from Leeds on a free transfer. Wright was one of five July signings with Burley twice more spending seven figure fees on new players.

The first of those was former Ipswich keeper Kelvin Davis, who cost £1 million to bring him from Sunderland, and he followed that up by going back to another of his old clubs Hearts and he paid £1.6 million for Czech Republic midfielder Rudi Skacel. To add to those signings he also added Manchester City's Bradley Wright-Phillips and defender Pele from Portuguese club Belenenses.

The squad building wasn't over and just ahead of the first game John Viafara moved from Portsmouth and since the season got underway to more of his former players, full back Chris Makin and Spanish midfielder Inigo Idiakez have arrived from Reading and Derby respectively.

Players have left to make way for the new signings and the most notable departures have been Darren Kenton, Matt Oakley, Danny Higginbotham, Dexter Blackstock and more recently the devout diver Ricardo Fuller.

That's all left Southampton with one of the strongest squads in the division and that has been reflected in this start of just one defeat plus nine goals and progress through two rounds of the Carling Cup.

Click HERE to see all Southampton's results this season.

George Burley doesn't have a full squad to choose from with David Prutton and Claus Lundekvam (ankle injuries) and Darren Powell and Michael Svensson (knee injuries) all ruled out. Only Lundekvam of those four has played this season and he was replaced after just six minutes of their opening game at Derby.

The good news for the Southampton manager is that Rasiak, Skacel and Viafara, who missed the Carling Cup win against Millwall, are all fit to return and are in the squad that has travelled to Lancashire, and all are expected to start.

Burley is expected to make two changes from the side that started last Saturday against Plymouth with Bradley Wright-Phillips and Djamel Belmadi preferred to Kenwyne Jones and Nathan Dyer. The youngster, who was on loan at Burnley last season before being called back early by caretaker boss Dave Bassett, has started all of the last three league games.

Southampton could line up: Kelvin Davis, Jermaine Wright, Chris Baird, Pele, Chris Makin, Djamel Belmadi, John Viafara, Inigo Idiakez, Rudi Skacel, Grzegorz Rasiak, Bradley Wright-Phillips. Subs from: Kevin Miller, Andrew Surman, Alexander Ostlund, Nathan Dyer, Kenwyne Jones, Gareth Bale, Marcelo Sarmiento, Martin Cranie, David McGoldrick.

Click HERE to see the full Southampton squad.

It might well be same again for Steve Cotterill following Burnley's 1-0 win at Stoke last week, and with Alan Mahon still struggling with a groin injury there doesn't seem any reason at all to change things.

We've got a virtually fully fit squad now with Garreth O'Connor recovered from illness and, other than Mahon, the only player ruled out is goalkeeper Danny Coyne who is edging ever closer to fitness. It is one year this weekend since we last saw Danny in action against Brighton in the game when he suffered his cruciate ligament injury.

I expect us to line up: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Wayne Thomas, John McGreal, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, James O'Connor, Micah Hyde, Steve Jones, Andy Gray, Gifton Noel-Williams. Subs from: Frank Sinclair, Stephen Foster, Chris McCann, John Spicer, Garreth O'Connor, Graham Branch, Kyle Lafferty, Alan Mahon.

It was just a few short months ago, our first meeting with Southampton since the 1970s. Such was the weather that the game was in some doubt and the club announced a 4:00 p.m. pitch inspection.

It was passed fit and within a minute of kick off we were 1-0 down and it was perhaps no surprise. We'd gone a goal down in the first minute at Leeds in the previous season, scorer Jermaine Wright, the same had happened in the home game against Millwall earlier in the 2005/06 season, scorer Jermaine Wright. Wright was on the pitch again this time, and he put the cross in from the right, but it was Phil Bardsley who turned the ball into his own goal to give the visitors an early lead.

In those Leeds and Millwall games we had recovered to win them both 2-1 but we weren't able to make it three wins and had to settle for a draw after Andy Gray scored a quick equaliser, running on to a through ball from Alan Mahon who was making his first start for the Clarets.

It was a close first half and the 1-1 scoreline was about right, but we dominated the second half and should really have gone on to win the game. Southampton were thankful for their 37 year old debutant in goal Kevin Miller who twice saved from Chris McCann and also from man of the match Jon Harley.

Their only threat came from the theatricals of Grzegorz Rasiak and his fellow strike partner Peter Madsen whose ability to go down far too easily even surpassed that of the Pole. It was a much different looking Southampton side than the one we will face this weekend and the teams lined up:

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Phil Bardsley, Michael Duff, Frank Sinclair, Jon Harley, Alan Mahon, James O'Connor (Micah Hyde 90), Chris McCann, Graham Branch, Michael Ricketts (Kyle Lafferty 74), Andy Gray. Subs not used: Garreth O'Connor, John Spicer, Wade Elliott.

Southampton: Kevin Miller, Alexander Ostlund (Darren Potter 69), Claus Lundekvam, Darren Kenton, Danny Higginbotham, Richard Chaplow, Chris Baird, Jermaine Wright, Jim Brennan, Peter Madsen (Kenwyne Jones 69), Grzegorz Rasiak. Subs not used: Paul Smith, Nathan Dyer, Dexter Blackstock.Andruszewski.