Russell Martin will want his Southampton side to put in a similarly impressive display to the one they mustered up at Leeds United on the final day away at West Bromwich Albion, as the drama of the Championship playoffs gets finally underway.
The Saints boss would set up his promotion-chasing side in a 5-3-2 formation for the trip to West Yorkshire, his team deciding to err on the side of caution after three league defeats on the spin which paid off in a 2-1 win.
Martin will ponder whether to stick with this defence-first approach or go more gung-ho with an attacking look in the West Midlands, with Carlos Corberan's men rather formidable on their own patch.
Away from talk of formations, there will be some selection headaches with what personnel he picks for the high-stakes first leg still with one notable star coming off injured against Daniel Farke's men.
Southampton team news
Away from long-term casualties Gavin Bazunu and Stuart Armstrong being certainties to miss this first leg and beyond in the playoffs, the pressing concern from a Saints perspective will be the availability of Che Adams to face West Brom.
With Martin downplaying the severity of Adams' knock after the Leeds clash, stating to the Daily Echo after the game that the ex-Birmingham City striker 'will be alright' for the contest at the Hawthorns, it will be intriguing to see if he is risked even if he's not at 100%.
If he is deemed unfit to be played from the get-go, this could make Martin tweak the formation and revert back to a more trusted 4-3-3 look away from the one-off five-at-the-back approach – the Saints boss utilising the 4-3-3 set-up in his side's last 13 league encounters, before facing off against Leeds.
With both Ross Stewart and Sekou Mara risky options to start as the main man up top alongside Adam Armstrong, the former Newcastle United man could line up as the leading centre-forward alongside Magpies loanee Ryan Fraser who will want to see out his stint at St. Mary's in style.
The pair have linked up well together in the league previously, as seen in the above clip, and will want to wreak havoc against Corberan's Baggies as an electric attacking duo.
Ryan Fraser's numbers this season for Southampton
Described as being a "brilliant" asset to have around the group by Martin earlier in the season, Fraser has been a reliable source of goals and assists for the promotion-chasers even when not being viewed as the main star.
The 30-year-old has eight goals and three assists next to his name from a total of 41 appearances, with his last strike for the Saints funnily enough coming against their play-off semi-final opponents back in February.
Fraser's showing in Southampton's 1-0 loss to Stoke City before the confidence-boosting Leeds win was also bright on an otherwise dire afternoon, with the Scotsman lively in flashes.
Notching up three key passes in the narrow defeat, which saw two big chances be created, the Newcastle loanee also fired one of Southampton's three on-targets on the day at the Potters goal.
Minutes played
90
Touches
50
Accurate passes
31/35 (89%)
Key passes
3
Big chances created
2
Shots on target
1
Martin will want an even more impactful performance from his winger against West Brom if selected, knowing a win away at a tough hunting ground in the Hawthorns would set up the Saints for a more comfortable home tie to follow.
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