Southampton’s three biggest risers and fallers heading into the international break

We are now at the 15 game mark of the 2026/27 Championship season.

There is a lot of the campaign to still be played, as we head into the jam-packed winter months that usually prove to be so crucial for teams loitering near the bottom of the division, and those near the very top of the league.

But, you can already sense which teams will be happy with their starts to the season, and which teams will be less than impressed, with Southampton rather content with their seventh place position right now, but they'll have aspirations to break into the automatic promotion picture, before May rolls around.

There have been several standout performers for Tonda Eckert's men so far this season, who are going from strength to strength in his first-team plans.

On the flip side, there are some first-team individuals who have showed signs of decline, who will need to up their performance levels, when Championship action returns later this month...

Kuryu Matsuki only started 11 Championship games all of last season for the Saints.

He has already hit that tally for this campaign, and he has suddenly become a key first-team option for Eckert to rely on down the right wing.

He has four goals and one assist from 15 overall appearances, with the Japan international popping up with some big goals, such as the winner against Norwich City last month in an uneventful 1-0 win.

Matsuki also managed to break the deadlock against West Ham United, which set the tone for a crazy 3-2 away victory for Eckert and Co.

His stock is definitely on the up, as he tries to live up to his manager's wild suggestion that he should have ten goals next to his name, when all is said and done at the end of the 46-game marathon.

Southampton fans fell head over heels for a loanee last season when Daniel Peretz relocated to the South Coast from Germany.

Finally, the Saints had a shot-stopper they could trust, after one too many flappy displays from Gavin Bazunu, and Peretz has continued to perform this season.

The Israel international has ten Championship clean sheets under his belt from only 35 second tier outings, as he continues to be seen as a top-drawer 'keeper for the notoriously difficult division.

Even when he is conceding goals, he is still impressing, with the high-octane 3-2 win at the London Stadium seeing him pull off a mighty 11 saves.

On another day, the Hammers could have won that crazy contest, with Peretz only becoming more and more of a firm fan favourite as time passes.

At the start of the campaign, Saints fans wouldn't have been too fussed if Jack Stephens was moved on.

Indeed, the opening day of the season against Watford saw him put in a calamitous display, as Eckert and Co. returned to the Championship, with a four point deduction in hand, and lost 2-1 to the relegation-threatened Hornets.

Thankfully, he has managed to turn around his St. Mary's narrative, with the long-standing servant rock-solid, for the most part, since he was drafted back into the starting XI for the South Coast Derby.

He has been everpresent at the back since he battled to help the Saints win that fiery affair 1-0, with three clean sheets on the spin clinched with Stephens in the heart of the backline.

The sometimes clumsy number five did give away a rash penalty against West Bromwich Albion recently, but he has enough credit in his bank over the last month or so to justify being a consistent starter.

Lewis Dobbin is the first of our three fallers, with the £9m attacker severely underwhelming his new set of supporters, since he left Aston Villa behind in the summer for the South Coast.

Dobbin did grab a goal during the 3-2 West Ham win, as he was in the right place at the right time to tap home.

But, this remains his only goal since costing the Saints so much money, with Dobbin guilty of fading in and out of matches far too often.

He didn't grab the bull by its horns whatsoever during the 1-0 Preston North End defeat, as he exited the Deepdale turf when he was hooked off by Eckert, having failed to test the opposition 'keeper with a single shot.

Currently, the 23-year-old looks nowhere near his excessive price-tag, as Cyle Larin comfortably slots back into the starting XI in his place, when football resumes in late November.

Leo Scienza has also struggled in-front of goal as of late, as he shows visible signs of decline, compared to last season's heroics.

Scienza was a joy to watch last campaign, with 17 goal contributions next to his name come the end of long, hard 46-game slog.

Right now, he has just four goal contributions to shout about, with his last strike coming against Swansea City, way back in September.

Across his last five second-tier outings, he has spurned 15 shots, with Scienza failing to find the back of the net at Deepdale last time out from five efforts.

The number seven just isn't hitting the heights many expect, with a new left winger sticking out as a priority during the January transfer window, to gift the pedestrian Brazilian some needed competition.

When Divin Mubama arrived in the summer, there was a lot of excitement.

Instantly, when you see a player you have signed on loan has Manchester City connections, you can get carried away, as Enzo Maresca's men are an elite team.

Unfortunately, like Dobbin, he stands out as another anticlimatic signing in attack, with Mubama only on one Championship goal for the season.

There is a hunger present for a signing down the left flank, but there is an even deeper hankering for a new striker addition when the window reopens, as Mubama potentially retreats home to the Etihad.