Southampton will be looking to maintain their fine showings in the cup competitions as they host Blackpool in the FA Cup third round on Saturday. The Saints have shown flashes of quality lately and that should be enough to get them past the struggling Championship side.
Southampton did not have the best warm up for Saturday’s clash as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. It was their second straight 1-0 defeat having also lost to Aston Villa in the Premier League last Saturday.
While results have not gone their way, there has been obvious improvements in Southampton's performances in recent weeks. Nathan Jones’ men have shown plenty of fight and went on a three-match winning run before the last two defeats.
Among the wins in that run was a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace in the previous round of the FA Cup. They will also look to take confidence from a recent 2-0 Carabao Cup home victory over Premier League champions Manchester City.
Blackpool were giant killers in the previous round of the FA Cup with a 4-1 victory over Nottingham Forest. They had different scorers as they raced to a four-goal lead before Forest grabbed a consolation in injury time.
That result is one of the rare high points in a generally disappointing campaign for Blackpool. They have claimed just the one win in their last 11 matches across all competitions and are currently deep in the Championship relegation battle.
One of the problems for Blackpool this season is a poor record on their travels. Mick McCarthy’s men have won just once in their last 10 away matches on the road and travel to St Mary’s Stadium off the back of a 2-0 Championship defeat at Watford.
How the bookies view it
Southampton have been installed as overwhelming favourites and are priced at 1/2 by bet365 to claim the win. A victory for Blackpool is valued at 23/4 by Unibet while 10bet is offering odds of 7/2 for a draw.
Head to head
Southampton have a 4-3 edge with four draws from 11 previous matches with Blackpool. However, both teams have not faced each other since 2013 when Blackpool claimed a 3-0 home victory in a Championship fixture.
Players to watch
James Ward-Prowse appears to be in a personal campaign to salvage Southampton’s season and has found the net five times in his last eight matches. The midfielder was also on target in the previous round at Crystal Palace and is priced at 9/4 with bet365.
Southampton showed some defensive solidity in the Carabao Cup win over Manchester City and will be looking for a similar performance. With Mohammed Salisu continuing in central defence, they will be targeting another clean sheet at 6/5 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Southampton are not expected to face much attacking threat from Blackpool, so BTTS NO could be on the cards at 21/20 with BetVictor. The Saints are likely to come out on top on Saturday and with a clean sheet also expected, a win to nil can be considered at 33/20 with Coral.
Blackpool and Southampton have both seen under 2.5 goals in their last two respective fixtures, a similar outcome could be on the cards at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This FA Cup match between Southampton and Blackpool will be played on Jan 28, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs Blackpool prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
