Alan Pardew will take his Crystal Palace side to one of his former clubs in the FA Cup third round on Saturday as Southampton host the Eagles at St Mary's.

The hosts boast the only FA Cup triumph between the two teams, but Palace did knock the Saints out of the competition last season and will be looking to make it two in a row this weekend.

Southampton

For Southampton manager Ronald Koeman, the FA Cup will provide some welcome relief from a testing time for his side in the Premier League at the moment.

The Saints have slipped down to 13th in the table following their 1-0 loss to Norwich City at the weekend - a result that made it six defeats from their last eight league outings and only four points from a possible 24 in that time.

It was not just the result that angered Koeman in that match, though, and he publicly stated that he felt "let down" by some of his players - namely Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama - in his post-match interview.

Wanyama incurred the Dutchman's wrath for picking up a second yellow card to leave his side a man down while the scores were still goalless, and Norwich went on to get the only goal of the game just minutes later.

Mane's offence was committed before the game had even begun, with the Senegalese forward turning up late for a team meeting and subsequently being dropped to the bench - the second time that has happened in the last 12 months.

The transfer rumour mill went into overdrive at the merest hint of unhappiness within the African duo, but it is understood that the club are determined to keep them and Koeman has since insisted that the Mane issue has been put to bed.

The Dutchman will now be hoping that his post-match words have the same effect as they did just a couple of weeks before. The last time Koeman publicly criticised his players was in the wake of their 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, and they responded by hammering Arsenal 4-0 on Boxing Day.

Incredibly, that remains their only victory and clean sheet in their last nine games in all competitions, which will only serve to heighten Koeman's frustration at the recent dip in form.

Saturday's match will be their first at St Mary's since that drubbing of the now-league leaders, but the home fans will also be aware that their last cup outing here ended in a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool.

Many will also cast their minds back a year to when they welcomed Crystal Palace to St Mary's in the fourth round of this competition, with the Eagles running out 3-2 winners on that occasion.

Recent form (all competitions): DLLWLL

Crystal Palace

The FA Cup third round of 2015 saw Pardew take charge of Crystal Palace for the first time, and while it was only Dover Athletic who they swept aside on that occasion, the good feeling has barely left the club since.

The Eagles are flying high in seventh after 20 matches of the Premier League season, with only five points separating them from the top four and a European challenge very much a possibility on the evidence so far.

Having said that, Palace do not enter this match in the best form. Back-to-back goalless draws against Bournemouth and Swansea City were both disappointing results, while Pardew's one-year anniversary was spoilt by a rejuvenated Chelsea last time out.

The Blues arrived at Selhurst Park and weathered an early storm before taking control and going on to win 3-0 - the heaviest league defeat of Pardew's tenure.

Only Tottenham Hotspur had conceded fewer goals than Palace going into that match, so to ship three in one game was uncharacteristic of the Eagles, but it is at the other end of the field where the main worries lie at the moment.

Injuries to the likes of Yannick Bolasie, Connor Wickham, Dwight Gayle and Bakary Sako, in addition to the exit of Patrick Bamford back to his parent club Chelsea, have stunted the Eagles' attacking threat in recent weeks, and as a result they have failed to score in their last three outings.

Inevitably, the club have subsequently been linked to attacking players in the January transfer window, with Simone Zaza, Emmanuel Adebayor and Charlie Austin among the names tipped for a switch to Selhurst Park - all of whom Pardew has denied interest in.

Their lack of a prolific striker has so far not held them back away from home this season, with only the top two in the league having amassed more points on the road than the Eagles, while they have also conceded fewer away goals than any other side in the division.

They are unbeaten on their travels since October, although their last away cup outing saw them comfortably beaten by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the League Cup this term.

Recent form (all competitions): DWWDDL

Team News

Koeman has revealed that Mane will start this weekend despite the recent bust-up between the pair, but Wanyama is ruled out due to the red card that also irked his manager.

He will join the injured quartet of Graziano Pelle, Jay Rodriguez, Fraser Forster and Florin Gardos on the sidelines, although Cedric Soares may return following a groin injury.

There is good news for the goal-shy visitors, meanwhile, as top-scorer Yohan Cabaye is available once again having served a one-match ban against Chelsea last time out.

Sako may also play some part having returned to the bench last weekend following a spell on the sidelines, although the match will come too soon for Gayle and Wickham.

Bolasie remains a couple of weeks away from his return, while Kwesi Appiah is a longer-term absentee for Pardew.

Southampton possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Martina, Fonte, Yoshida, Targett; Clasie, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Mane, Tadic; Long

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Ward, Dann, Hangeland, Souare; McArthur, Ledley, Puncheon, Mutch, Zaha; Sako

Head To Head

Southampton have won six of the last eight meetings between these two sides, but both of Crystal Palace's victories in that spell have come within the last year.

That includes their 3-2 triumph over the Saints in the fourth round of this competition last season, with all of the goals coming in a thrilling first half at St Mary's. That was the seventh time that they have met in the FA Cup, with Palace winning four, losing two and drawing one of those.

Cabaye got the only goal of the game when these two sides met at Selhurst Park last month, but Palace's most recent visit here ended in defeat by the same scoreline courtesy of a Mane strike.

We say: Southampton 0-1 Crystal Palace

Southampton's form is far from encouraging at the moment, while Palace have been impressive on the road ever since Pardew took over more than a year ago. It is a match that could go either way, but we are siding with Crystal Palace to make it through to the fourth round.