Southampton have one big advantage over Portsmouth ahead of Sunday - Will Still will be licking his lips | OneFootball

Southampton have a far more valuable squad than Portsmouth on paper, giving Saints a huge advantage going into the South Coast derby on Sunday

Southampton and Portsmouth clash in the league for the first time in 13 years on Sunday, with Pompey sitting two points above the Saints in the Championship table. Boasting home advantage and a vastly superior squad, Southampton should be strong favourites, though.

Will Still's Saints side have made an indifferent start to the campaign, with a win and two draws to show from their four matches so far. An opening day comeback victory at home to Wrexham set the Saints on their way, before away draws at Ipswich and Watford slowed their momentum somewhat.

Portsmouth, on the other hand, will be pleased with their start and rightly so. They have picked up seven points from their opening four matches. Their two wins have come against two teams who could be scrapping for their lives come next April. A single goal and a clean sheet was enough to see off Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium and Preston North End at Fratton Park. Their away point at West Brom was hard-fought, although on the balance of play, a point flattered the visitors.

Southampton had quality and have now added more - there's even more to come

Heading into this weekend's fixture, the stark contrast between the two squads is impossible to ignore. The Saints have brought in nine players since Still's arrival and moved on upwards of £100 million pounds worth of talent, according to Tranfermarkt.com. Only four of those signings have pulled on a red and white shirt so far because the majority of Southampton's business was done very late in the transfer window.

Mads Roerslev is an improvement in the right-back/wing-back position. The Dane offers Premier League experience and is perfect for Still's style of play. His strength, positional acumen and energy have already made a difference. Roerslev has made three appearances, including a substitute appearance in the defeat at home to Stoke City.

In contrast, German under-21 international Joshua Quarshie has found it difficult to hold on to his place in recent weeks after starting the season strongly. Southampton's strength in depth at the back is part of the issue. Taylor Harwood-Bellis, a capped England senior international, returning to the side hasn't helped Quarshie's case either.

Damion Downs has yet to adjust to the English league. However, Still is aware of the time that this could take and was quick to have his players' back in a recent press conference.

Finn Azaz is the only other new signing to feature so far. He was bright and inventive before being substituted in the second-half of Southampton's draw at Watford just before the international break.

There's more to come from him, and other signings such as Tom Fellows.

Southampton's starting XI v Portsmouth is difficult to predict

It is difficult to predict the Southampton starting line-up for Sunday's match. Still has a huge squad to select from and not long to work with some of them. In Tom Fellows, he has the winger that he needs. Fellows created fourteen goals for West Brom last season, a figure that will have Adam Armstrong, Cameron Archer, Ross Stewart, and Damion Downs excited at the prospect of getting on the end of that many chances.

The Saints boss is not averse to springing the odd surprise, but it might be too much of a stretch to expect to see Caspar Jander, Elias Jelert, George Long, or Leo Scienza among the starters. Most have arrived with strong reputations and Pompey boss, John Mousinho, must be green with envy about their rivals' squad. On the flip side, Still will be licking his lips at the XI he can field and substitutes he should be able to turn to.

Let's not forget that Pompey have been equally busy this summer, albeit in a more restricted price range than their neighbors. 14 players have come in at Fratton Park while 16 have gone out. Mousinho has brought in free transfers from an eclectic range of European leagues alongside the permanent signings of Mark Kosznovszky, Josh Knight and Franco Umeh-Chibueze. Conor Chaplin is also back at Fratton Park, and he will be itching to make an impact against Saints.

All this means precious little in a derby match and Still has been making sure his players know what this match means to the club and its fans. Ex-Saints players have been brought in to speak to the squad about what to expect on Sunday. Portsmouth will be organised and aggressive. Their travelling fans will bring the noise and the passion. Their team can play a bit too.

If squad sizes and wages determined the results of football matches, which it largely does over the course of a season, there would never be any shocks.

On paper, this is a comfortable home win. Sadly for Saints fans of a nervous disposition, the game isn't played on paper. Still will be licking his lips now and Pompey will come up against a star-studded squad for Championship standard. That might count for nothing come Sunday evening, though.