Southampton to miss Sofiane Boufal and Mario Lemina tonight

by Graeme Jackson

Thursday Apr 19, 2018. 14:00

Southampton will be without African stars Sofiane Boufal and Mario Lemina when they face Leicester City at King Power Stadium tonight for a Premier League match.

Saints manager Mark Hughes explained that the Moroccan and Gabonese are out due to illness and injury respectively.

"We've got a couple of omissions – Mario Lemina has got an issue with his back, which is affecting his hamstring," the manager explained at a press conference. "Sofiane Boufal is ill, but apart from that we should be OK."

Southampton are fighting for Premier League survival, as they find themselves in 18th place (third from bottom) and five points adrift of safety, but Hughes wants his players to have a positive mindset.

"The message is to enjoy the challenge. It's not an easy situation but don't be cowed by it, just get out there and show people what you are about," he stated.

"You have the opportunity to make a statement every time you put the shirt on.

"There is a lot of talk about fear of failure. My interpretation of that is you should not allow people the opportunity to criticise you and use that motivation to drive yourself on to bigger and better things."