The Saints travel to Carrow Road to face Norwich in the FA Cup Third Round tomorrow in a tie which is a potential banana skin for Claude Puel’s men.
They go into the tie on the back of a hectic festive schedule which seen them play three times in the space of 118 hours, and with the long journey to East Anglia, it wouldn’t be surprise to see a few changes.
Saints have lost the last three so a huge moral boosting performance is needed with a place in the Fourth Round at stake.
Meanwhile, the hosts have failed to get past the Third Round in their last three seasons, and when they did the season before, they were eliminated by League Two side Luton Town in a upset.
Team News
The Canaries have been dealt a huge blow this week with influential midfielder Graham Dorrans has been ruled out for two months with a knee injury, while Louis Thompson is still not available after his injury.
They have recalled James Maddison from his loan spell ad Aberdeen but Alex Neil has yet to confirm that he will play a part in the tie. Matt Jarvis will return to the squad is likely to make his first appearance of the season.
The Saints have Virgil van Dijk back available after his ban but will most likely be rested with thought looming towards the EFL Cup Semi-Final first leg against Liverpool next week.
Sofiane Boufal and Jake Hesketh still remain on the sidelines for the time being, while Charlie Austin, Matty Targett and Jeremy Pied are all still out with long term injuries.
Stats
This will be the fourth time the sides have faced each other in the FA Cup, and the most recent was 2003 in the Fifth Round, where Saints got the victory and then went onto the final but lost to Arsenal.
Although for Norwich, the last time they met at Carrow Road in the cup, they came away with a 2-1 victory.
Although for Puel, his Saints side haven't scored on any of their last three visits to Carrow Road, all Premier League matches between March 2013 and January 2016.
Oriol Romeu has scored in his only FA Cup appearance for Southampton, against Crystal Palace last January.