Alan Pardew will return to the Valley when his Southampton side face Charlton in League One.
Bottom club Saints face tough trip to London
Alan Pardew will return to the Valley when his Southampton side face Charlton in League One.
It might not be a welcome return to his old stamping ground for Pardew, with Charlton flying high with a 100 per cent start to the season, while the Saints lie rock-bottom on minus six points.
Addicks midfield pair Nicky Bailey and Therry Racon are both doubts for the tie, with Racon picking up a hamstring injury during last weekend's win over Brentford and Bailey suffering a knee problem in training.
Grant Basey or Scott Wagstaff could step in to replace Bailey, with recent signings Leon McKenzie and Luke Holden still short of match fitness.
Charlton were unchanged for their 2-0 win over Brentford last weekend, but deadline day signing Sam Sodje could move up from the bench to earn himself a starting spot.
Saints news
Southampton started the season on minus 10 points, but have only managed to claw four back so far this term in a bid to climb up the table.
Pardew's side will be buoyed by the news that new striker Papa Waigo and defender Radhi Jaidi have both been cleared to play after being granted work permits.
While the Saints boss will be doing everything in his power to secure a win for his team, he admits he will have mixed feelings about returning to the Valley.
"I will be going back there with mixed feelings because there's a lot of regret there from both myself and the board," he told the club's
official website.
"For whatever reason, it didn't work out there, but that happens in football. It's also one of my old teams on the playing side, and I like to see them do well.
"There are no hard feelings on my side. I will just go back there as a professional manager and look to get a win for Southampton."
