Southampton manager Claude Puel has revealed Charlie Austin overcame illness to help his team to a 3-1 victory over Burnley on Sunday.
The striker scored twice in the win at St Mary’s to take his tally to four goals in as many games against his former club.
Austin’s current form is even more impressive with seven goals in six matches in all competitions and he has forged a successful partnership with Nathan Redmond at Southampton.
Puel praised both players following the win, which he believes was a solid team performance from Saints, particularly after the break.
“He was a little ill this week and I didn’t know if he could play,” said Puel of 27-year-old Austin.
"It is important for the team with the character and a good spirit of course, but all the players can make a good game around him.
"You saw a very good player and a very good team in the second half.
“Nathan also came in with a very good performance, with very good technique. I asked him to shoot a bit more when he gets the chance and he did that.”
Southampton return to Europa League action on Thursday with a trip to Italy to face Inter Milan, but Puel insists Austin is not guaranteed a starting spot despite impressing against the Clarets.
“No, it’s important he doesn’t play all the games from the start,” Puel said.
"It’s important you don’t lose Charlie, it’s important he’s available every time, to keep a good physical level for every player.
"Charlie is not an endurance player; it’s important to keep him with his qualities, and we can change the team every game. It’s not possible, for me, for a player to start all the games every three days.
“We can keep all the players with a good performance all the time and a good physical level. It’s important to conserve (their energy), to continue this work for the team, for the future.”
McCarthy played the full 90 minutes as a late strike from Erhun Oztumer earned the Saddlers all three points and made it three straight wins.
Shrewsbury twice came from behind to level the scores at 2-2, with Oliver Lancashire cancelling out Amadou Bakayoko’s effort on 23 minutes, before Kieron Morris restored the advantage.
After going agonisingly close to making it 3-1 on 56 minutes, Junior Brown struck an equaliser, when Ian Black’s corner was missed by Ross Etheridge.
The visitors were reduced to ten men when Ryan McGiven reacted angrily to a challenge from Bakayoko.
And late on, Oztumer atoned for his earlier one-on-one miss when his inswinging corner crept in at the near post.
Walsall also finished the game with ten men as Bakayoko received a second yellow card for his celebrations after the dramatic winner.
In the Championship, Sam Gallagher was involved as Blackburn Rovers drew 0-0 with Ipswich Town at Ewood Park, to register their first clean sheet of the campaign.
Elsewhere, Dom Gape also played the duration as Wycombe drew 1-1 with Mansfield Town as the One Call Stadium.
Gareth Ainsworth’s side were denied a first away win of the campaign when Matt Green equalised late on for the Stags.
Matt Bloomfield was on target in the first-half when he latched on to Paul Hayes’ pass before running on and showing composure to slide the ball past Scott Shearer.
Paulo Gazzaniga was also in action for loan club Rayo Vallecano as they drew 3-3 with Numancia in Segunda División.
Manu de Moral opened the scoring after two minutes for the visitors, and, after Vallecano had levelled through Antonio Amaya, looked to have won the game with further goals from Marc Mateu and Julio Álvarez.
However, Alex Moreno pulled one back and the comeback was complete late on when Patrick Ebert made it 3-3.
Saints host the Black Cats in the fourth round of the competition on Wednesday 26th October, with a 7.45pm kick-off.
Previously, only the Itchen and Northam Stands had been open, but the Chapel is now also available for supporters to purchase seats in.
Saints reached this stage of the EFL Cup by overcoming Crystal Palace 2-0, at St Mary’s, in the third round, and will be bidding for a place in the quarter-finals next week.
Charlie Austin scored twice to take his goals tally to seven in six matches as Southampton continued their surge up the Premier League table with a 3-1 win at home to the striker’s old club Burnley on Sunday.
Austin tapped in from close range and converted a penalty on either side of a Nathan Redmond volley as Claude Puel’s men peppered Tom Heaton’s goal with a season-high 34 shots.
Boyhood Saints fan Sam Vokes’ late penalty was no more than a consolation goal for Burnley as Puel’s side extended their unbeaten run to seven matches and moved up to eighth place.
Austin scoring goals is becoming the norm now, but Redmond joining him on the scorecard with his first since the opening weekend of the season is a huge confidence booster for the England under-21 winger-turned-striker.
Redmond took his goal wonderfully, albeit after having first-half efforts blocked by Heaton. Other than a questionable penalty, Saints were again impressive at the back, with Oriol Romeu the standout performer.
Scoring three goals is never something to be sniffed at, but to score only three off 34 attempts on goal is a very minor worry. Saints have had more shots than their opposition in every game this season, according to Puel, who acknowledges his side need to become more clinical.
Conceding for the first time in 612 minutes – denying goalkeeper Fraser Forster the chance to break the club’s clean sheet record – was pretty galling, but again not a huge worry after netting thrice.
9 – Puel has well and truly won the fans over. He is the best parts of predecessors Ronald Koeman and Mauricio Pochettino rolled into one with his entertaining brand of winning football and love of all things young and British. It is clear that the players adore him too, with a couple of heart-warming moments during breaks in plays when he engaged in advisory conversation with them like a father would talk to his children. The respect is clear to see.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Fraser Forster, 7 – Much less busy than his England bench-warming counterpart Heaton. Visibly annoyed to lose his clean sheet to a soft penalty call.
DF Cuco Martina, 6 – Hardly given a working over by George Boyd, but he lacked his usual sparkling crosses going forward. The absence of the injured Cedric Soares should not be a worry for Puel.
DF Jose Fonte, 7 – Much calmer than he was earlier in the season, but not exactly tested. Would have been the perfect 250th league appearance for the club if not for a missed header late on.
DF Virgil van Dijk, 7 – The bar has been set high for the Dutchman, but he still hits his mark every week. This time it was his attacking flair which shone, with a first-half strike and an assist for Austin’s opener.
DF Matt Targett, 6 – Only influence of the game was a stunning whipped cross for Austin – which was saved in Gordon Banks style by Heaton. Went off after 14 minutes clutching his hamstring.
MF Oriol Romeu, 8 – His performance is best summed up by a Saints fan page on Twitter: “I’m not saying Romeu tidied up everything today, but don’t be surprised if you get home and find that your kitchen is spotless.” Underrated star.
MF Jordy Clasie, 6 – A rare quiet game for Clasie. You usually either notice him because he is awful or storming. This time he just did the simple things.
MF Steven Davis, 7 – Was the driving force in attack, with clever interplay all over the pitch. His set pieces were a constant delight from the left side.
MF Dusan Tadic, 7 – The free role he has been given is one of Puel’s biggest masterstrokes. He pops up on both wings and through the middle, confusing defenders trying to keep a close eye on him.
FW Charlie Austin, 9 – Was slow and frustrated by Heaton in the first half but came out and gave a masterclass in centre-forward work in the second 45 minutes. Must be close to an England call-up.
FW Nathan Redmond, 8 – Needs regular goals to benchmark how he is coping with the striker role. His performance, fully of quick feet and flair, deserved it.
DF Sam McQueen, 8 – Premier League debut to remember. His physicality is a step up on the admittedly ever-improving Targett, but he has a Luke Shaw feel about him. Might want to try to stay on his feet after being accused of diving for a penalty.
FW Jay Rodriguez, N/A – Feeling his way back to fitness yet again. Nearly scored.
MF James Ward-Prowse, N/A – Almost curled in a late fourth. Certain to start in Milan.
Alex Crook is ESPN FC’s Southampton blogger. Follow him on Twitter @alex_crook
Arsenal marked a milestone in the Premier League on Saturday, when they passed the 1,000-point mark on home soil.
Arsene Wenger’s side were 3-2 winners over Swansea at the Emirates Stadium, making it 297 home wins out of 466 since the competition’s inception in 1992.
READ MORE: Premier League team of the weekend - talkSPORT picks best players including Chelsea, Tottenham and Southampton stars
So where does that put the Gunners in a list of all-time home wins in the Premier League?
Fear not, talkSPORT have crunched the numbers and put together a list containing all 20 teams currently in the top flight.
Starting with AFC Bournemouth - currently playing just their second season in the top tier - click the right arrow, above, to see which team has racked up the most points on home soil in the Premier League*…
Charlie Austin (£6.4m) claimed a brace, including one from the penalty spot, to score 51 points in the Fantasy Premier League Bonus Points System (BPS) as Southampton brushed aside Burnley at St Mary’s Stadium.
The striker made it four goals in as many matches to secure maximum bonus points and move into the top six of highest-scoring FPL forwards in 2016/17.
Two bonus points went to Nathan Redmond (£5.9m), who scored his first goal since Gameweek 1 and registered three efforts on target on the way to a BPS total of 39.
Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton’s (£4.6m) earned a single bonus point thanks to a BPS score of 32.
The England international defied the home side with 11 saves at St Mary’s. He has now made 40 stops this season – nine clear of his closest rival, Sunderland’s Jordan Pickford (£4.0m).
The ICT Index
Having fired 34 attempts on goal against the Clarets, it was no surprise to see Southampton players dominate the ICT Index for Gameweek 8.
Saints supplied three of the top four players overall, with midfielder Dusan Tadic (£7.2m) leading the way courtesy of an impressive score of 23.
The Serbia international tops the Creativity charts for Gameweek 8 so far, with 104 - he produced six chances, 12 crosses and 24 successful passes in the final third.
Despite failing to find the net, Tadic also registered seven attempts on goal, with four efforts on target.
Austin’s overall Index total of 20.6 was fuelled by a Threat tally of 138 – the highest of the weekend. He mustered eight goal attempts, six of which came from inside the box, and had 16 penalty-area touches.
Redmond took third spot in Sunday’s meeting with a score of 20.2 in the Index.
Second only to Austin for Threat, with 113, the midfielder produced six of his seven goal attempts from inside the box and had 13 touches in the Burnley box.
Austin’s double has already earned him more than 24,000 new owners prior to Saturday’s Gameweek 9 deadline.
The Saints striker has risen in price in each of the previous two rounds of fixtures, yet his form is set to be tested by a tough run of opponents.
Their next four fixtures involve trips to Manchester City and Hull City away, with Chelsea and Liverpool both visiting St Mary’s.
Tadic has now created more chances (28) than any player in the Premier League and Redmond is ranked second only to Arsenal’s in-demand Theo Walcott (£7.8m) for shots inside the box (21 to 23) for midfielders.
Southampton’s run of three successive clean sheets in the Premier League came to an end, with first-choice full-backs Ryan Bertrand (£5.4m) and Cedric Soares (£5.0m) missing out through injury.
Claude Puel has further concerns in defence, with 21-year-old Sam McQueen (£4.5m) called into action when Matt Targett (£4.4m) succumbed to a hamstring problem.
Burnley remain vulnerable away from home and have now shipped nine goals in three straight defeats on the road.
Key midfielder Steven Defour (£6.0m) limped off with a hamstring injury against Southampton to add to manager Sean Dyche’s worries.
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