This FA Cup Third Round tie sees European hopefuls Southampton travel to Championship promotion hopefuls Norwich City.
Norwich recorded an impressive 3-0 victory over in-form Derby County last time out after a run of three matches without a win, boosting them up to ninth in the table. However, despite recently being in the Premier League, The Canaries are a huge five points off that precious sixth spot with promotion looking an uphill task from here on.
Alex Neil’s side have no problems in forward areas and are capable of blowing teams away with their attacking threat. They have scored an impressive 41 goals in 25 league games this season and, despite a poor recent run, have found the back of the net in all but one of their last seven matches.
However, their defence is rather haphazard with Norwich conceding a huge 37 in 25 which is an average of 1.48 per game. Having said that, Neil’s men have kept clean sheets in both of their last two outings which will give him some encouragement.
Norwich’s home record has been pretty decent with three wins in their last four at Carrow Road. However, when it comes to the FA Cup it is a different story with just one win in eight games since February 2007.
Southampton are currently having a bit of a nightmare in the Premier League having lost their last three matches on the spin. As a result, they’ve seen themselves drop down to 10th place.
Goals have once again been the problem for Claude Puel’s side in recent games with just two goals in their last three matches which means their total ‘Goals For’ column reads a paltry 19 in 20. The Saints defence had been what was getting them results earlier in the season but it now seems that even that solid back-line has started to collapse with no clean sheet since 14th December.
The Saints are certainly better at home and their away record currently reads just one win in their last four. However, they have not lost to lower league opposition in the FA Cup on their travels since February 2008.
It will be interesting to see what sort of team Puel picks for this match against Championship side Norwich. Will he rotate and prioritise the Premier League as he looks to start the almighty push towards European football or look to go on a cup run? – the latter would certainly help to ease any pressure and regain that all-important winning feeling.
Either way, even a rotated Saints side, which isn’t guaranteed, should be coming out on top against Norwich who are so inconsistent. The Canaries have often struggled at the back, so if Southampton can return to their solid selves then they should have little problem in causing damage at the other end. Backing the visitors at odds of 6/5 looks a decent bet.
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