Premier League strugglers Southampton host Swansea City this weekend, as the two sides square off in the third round of the FA Cup.
With the hosts rooted to the bottom of the table, they will view this cup tie against Championship opposition as an opportunity to get their first win under new manager Ivan Juric.
Match preview
Following their promotion in the Championship playoffs last season, the Saints were always likely to be involved in the battle against relegation this campaign.
However, with only one win in the league and just six points on the board from their 20 league games so far this season, a return to the Championship looks increasingly likely with each passing game.
Despite Russell Martin guiding the club to promotion last season, he was sacked following a humbling 5-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur last month, with Juric announced as his replacement just days later.
The Croatian was in attendance at Craven Cottage to witness a goalless draw with Fulham under interim boss Simon Rusk, but the Saints have lost all three of their games with Juric in charge.
Although they showed some resilience in narrow defeats to West Ham United and Crystal Palace, they followed it up with another humiliating 5-0 home defeat against Brentford last weekend, demonstrating the scale of the task ahead of Juric.
One of the main reasons behind Southampton's struggles this year has been a lack of attacking threat, with their 12 goals in 20 matches the worst goalscoring record in the league.
As well as not being able to score goals, they have the joint second-worst defensive record in the division, with 44 goals conceded and only two clean sheets in the league all season.
Although these statistics will be a huge concern for their new manager, Juric's immediate concern will be getting his first win in charge of his new club, and this weekend's match will provide a good opportunity to do just that.
Southampton have the worst home record in the Premier League, with just four points gained at St Mary's all season, but they will look to their recent history against the Swans as a good omen ahead of this clash.
Last season, when the two sides met at St Mary's, the hosts won 5-0, helping boost the club's promotion hopes, and Swansea have lost their last four games against Southampton.
However, with the Saints struggling this season, the Welsh outfit will see this weekend as a perfect opportunity to claim their first win against a Premier League side in the FA Cup since 2014.
The visitors enter this tie sitting in 12th in the Championship table, six points off the playoff zone with 26 games played, and promotion to the Premier League remains a possibility.
Their recent away form will need to improve if they want to get anything from this weekend's clash, as they have suffered seven defeats on the road in the league this season.
Two of those defeats came in their most recent away matches, with strugglers Hull City and Portsmouth both claiming important victories against Swansea in their battle against the drop.
The Swans will be hoping for a much happier visit to Hampshire this weekend, having been hammered 4-0 in that loss at Fratton Park on New Year's Day.
Despite conceding four times in that game against Portsmouth, the visitors have the ninth-strongest defensive record in the Championship, and they will feel confident coming up against a goal-shy Southampton attack.
Team News
Jack Stephens (muscle) and Juan Larios (knock) will miss the cup clash, but are expected to be back in action in the near future.
Elsewhere, Will Smallbone (hamstring), Flynn Downes (leg) and Ross Stewart (calf) are doubts for this tie, while Gavin Bazunu is still recovering from a long-term Achilles injury.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be without both Kristian Pedersen and Sam Parker due to hamstring injuries.
In further blows for the Swans, Josh Ginnelly (Achilles) and Oliver Cooper (foot) will also miss out on the trip to Hampshire.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Manning, Wood, Bella-Kotchap, Harwood-Bellis, Sugawara; Lallana, Aribo, Fernandes, Dibling; Archer
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Tymon, Darling, Christie, Key; Franco, Grimes, Ronald, Cullen, Peart-Harris, Bianchini
We say: Southampton 1-2 Swansea City
This is a tricky game to call, as Southampton have struggled all season and it is difficult to see them winning anywhere at the moment.
The nature of the Brentford result last weekend would have been a crushing blow to the new management team, and we think Swansea will pile on the misery here with a slight upset at St Mary's this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
