It appears Potter is switching to a back four, as Dinos Mavropanos drops out of the starting XI.

A third change sees Ollie Scarles drop to the substitutes’ bench, with Emerson starting at left-back.

The Italy international makes his 110th appearance for the Club since arriving from Chelsea in August 2022. In that time, he won the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023 and has featured 85 times in the Premier League.

So, Potter’s starting XI sees Alphonse Areola in goal, with a back four of Coufal, Emerson and centre-backs Jean-Clair Todibo and ever-present starter Maximilian Kilman immediately in front of him.

The midfield three will be unchanged, with former Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse, Carlos Soler and Lucas Paquetá, who put in a superb performance in last Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Liverpool, all keeping their places.

Captain Jarrod Bowen and Ghana star Mohammed Kudus, who started up front at Anfield, will return to their more regular positions on the right and left wings respectively, with Füllkrug leading the line.

The substitutes’ bench will be filled by Mavropanos, Scarles, 40-year-old goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański, defender Aaron Cresswell, midfielders Guido Rodríguez, Andy Irving and Tomáš Souček, and attackers Luis Guilherme and Evan Ferguson.

Wan-Bissaka, Edson Álvarez, Crysencio Summerville and Michail Antonio are all absent injured, while Wes Foderingham and Danny Ings are not involved against the Saints.

West Ham United: Areola, Coufal, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson, Ward-Prowse, Soler, Paquetá, Bowen ©, Kudus, FüllkrugSubs: Fabiański (GK), Cresswell, Scarles, Mavropanos, Rodríguez, Souček, Irving, Luis Guilherme, Ferguson

Southampton: Ramsdale, Walker-Peters, Stephens ©, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Manning, Downes, Ugochukwu, Fernandes, Sulemana, Onuachu

Subs: McCarthy (GK), Bree, Wood, Welington, Smallbone, Aribo, Dibling, Stewart, Archer

Referee: Andrew Kitchen