Hapoel Be'er-Sheva v Southampton preview: Saints quartet stay at home

Charlie Austin, Jose Fonte, Steven Davis and Ryan Bertrand have not travelled to Israel ahead of Southampton's Europa League clash against Hapoel Be'er Sheva on Thursday (kick-off 6pm).

The Saints are looking for a second straight victory in the competition, following their 3-0 win over Sparta Prague earlier in September.

They have won their three games since then, beating Swansea, Crystal Palace and West Ham, and sit ninth in the Premier League table, and Claude Puel has confirmed he intends to rotate his squad with one eye on Sunday's visit to Leicester.

Puel said: "Some players stay at home, because with the travel they won't recover.

"We have another game against Leicester and it's important to consider this game also to try to have a good result every time."

The Southampton boss will not underestimate their Israeli opponents, who gave Celtic a rough time in their Champions League play-off round defeat and also beat Inter Milan 2-0 in the first group game.

Team news

Austin, Fonte, Davis and Bertrand have stayed in Southampton to prepare for the Premier League trip to the King Power at the weekend.

Puel admitted he plans to "manage his squad" on Thursday, which could mean further opportunities for Maya Yoshida, Cuco Martina and Matt Targett.

Shane Long, who dropped to the bench for the win at West Ham, could also be in line for a recall in the absence of Austin, while Jay Rodriguez (groin) and Sofiane Boufal (knee) both miss out through injury.

Opta stats

Excluding qualifiers, English sides have won their last five trips to Israel in Europe, racking up 17 goals (3.7 per game).

Hapoel Be'er Sheva have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six European games (including qualifying), although they did concede five against Celtic in Champions League qualifying this season.

Southampton have not won back-to-back European games in a single season (excluding qualifiers) since beating Carrick Rangers' in the 1976/77 Cup Winners' Cup second round.

The Israeli side are unbeaten in five European home games, winning each of their last three. However, all five games have been in qualifying.

The Saints have failed to score in each of their last four UEFA Cup/Europa League away games (excluding qualifying).

Betting

Southampton are 13/10 with Sky Bet to extend their winning run by beating Hapoel (21/10), while the joint group leaders are 23/10 to share the spoils.

The Saints are currently considered joint eighth favourites to win the competition at 20/1, while the hosts are up against odds of 100/1 to lift the trophy.

Austin heads the first goalscorer betting at 5/1 but it is Long (11/2) who Soccer Saturday pundits Matt Le Tissier and Phil Thompson are backing to prove a point and break the deadlock in their Sky Bet tips.