Southampton new boy Guido Carrillo made his fourth appearance – and third start – since joining the club from Monaco in a £19.2m deal during the January transfer window when he lined up against West Bromwich Albion in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

The Argentine striker came off of the substitutes' bench at half-time in the 1-1 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion at St Mary's at the end of January to make his debut for the club, and while he was willing to chase the ball he didn't look particularly strong in the air, or brilliant on the ball.

Despite that fact, the 26-year-old was handed a starting berth with Shane Long and Manolo Gabbiadini left on the bench against the Baggies in a Premier League tie just a few days later, and his new team picked up their first top flight win since November as they ran out 3-2 winners.

Carrillo was often left isolated as the lone striker in the victory in the west Midlands and had few chances, and although he did see one effort saved by Ben Foster it was left to his Saints teammates to get the three goals that gave the visitors a win that moved them out of the relegation zone.

The striker was once again given the nod by his Argentine compatriot Pellegrino for the visit of Liverpool to St Mary's eight days later, and it proved to be another difficult day at the office for the manager, team and in particular the 26-year-old.

The attacking midfielders were once again not close enough to support him – a common theme under Pellegrino – but the centre-forward also struggled to win balls in the air against Dejan Lovren and former Saint Virgil van Dijk, while he often failed to make the right decisions when he was in possession of the ball.

Carrillo had one half-chance against Jurgen Klopp's men when he finally won a ball in the air from a decent position in the penalty area, but his header was easily saved by Loris Karius.

The striker picked up his first assist of his Southampton career in the 2-1 win against West Brom in the fifth round of the FA Cup last weekend, but while he did well it was hardly clear cut.

The 26-year-old hit a ball up in the air from the left wing towards Dusan Tadic in the middle, with the Serbia international managing to bring the ball down before breaking into the area and clipping the ball over Ben Foster in the hosts' goal.

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But is that enough for a Southampton side that need goals in their survival bid, with their defence not exactly looking really strong right now?

Centre-back partners Wesley Hoedt and Jack Stephens have scored four of their side's last seven goals in all competitions, and that form is something that won't carry on until the end of the campaign.

The south coast outfit need their strikers to stand up, and while he has struggled over the course of the last year or so, Gabbiadini showed when he first joined the club last year exactly what he is capable of.

The Italian scored six goals in his first four appearances for Saints, and he could even have had another if one of his finishes in the EFL Cup final wasn't wrongly chalked off for offside.

The 26-year-old has shown that if you give him the right service and can find his runs that he can find the back of the net, and Pellegrino must be working hard on the training pitch in the coming days and weeks to ensure this happens.

Carrillo is more of a target man than a natural-born finisher, and while it would perhaps be harsh to drop him right now, few would argue that he provides more of a goal threat than Gabbiadini.

If Pellegrino wants to continue with one up front then he needs to give the Italy international a rare start - he has only been named in the starting XI twice since November 18 – and as time is of the essence, it must come against Burnley on Saturday.

The ideal scenario would be to play both of them, as it would mean that one striker isn't left isolated, and that could also help see a return to form for the Italian if he has a player alongside him who can win headers and hold the ball up.

It is a change of formation that Pellegrino seriously needs to consider, because if his lone centre-forward is as isolated as they have been for most of the campaign in the remaining 11 matches, Southampton could be saying goodbye to the Premier League.