Southampton make the short trip along the coast this week as they face Chris Hughton’s Brighton in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
The Saints have had an indifferent season to date, collecting just one point from their opening three clashes in the league and have generally under-performed so far.
Brighton have seen a mixed start to the new season, picking up three points from their first three games – which included a brilliant win over Manchester United last weekend, however.
The Saints have visited the Amex on just one occasion previously, a Premier League match from last season which ended 1-1.
Both sides are likely to be in for tough seasons in and around the bottom half of the table so a cup run would be a welcome distraction for the fans.
However, the Amex has proven to be a tough place to find success in recent times, something which Manchester United found out last weekend.
There are set to be numerous opportunities given to some of the fringe players in both sides with the Saints set to offer chances to Angus Gunn, Matt Targett, Maya Yoshida, Jan Bednarek and Manolo Gabbiadini.
In terms of team news, Saints have a fully fit squad to choose from and will be able to have Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the squad despite his red card at the weekend with the new rule this season where the red card only results in a ban for the competition it was received in.
There is set to be a large amount of rotation,, but you can still expect Hughes to name a strong side tomorrow evening.
The Saints boss has spoken to the club’s official website ahead of the clash and is targeting a cup run to help get the side’s league form back to where it should be:
We’ll go there strong and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve got a lot of guys that are itching to get their season started so we’ll look to get a number of them involved,
It’s a competition we want to do well in. It will enable us to keep everybody at the right level. If we can get a good cup run, we can use that to good effect.“I don’t think it’s ever a distraction.
People suggest it is sometimes but not for me, I think they can sustain and enhance your Premier League form if you can get through difficult rounds against good opposition.
As for Brighton, Lewis Dunk will miss the tie with an ankle injury, while Jose Izquierdo will be missing with a thigh injury sustained at the World Cup with Colombia.
Bruno could return for this one however, having come back to training this week following a thigh injury and could captain the side.
I feel that this will be another close encounter between two well-matched sides and penalties may not be outside the realm of possibility.
Despite this, I feel that Saints will claim a narrow 1-0 win in normal time tomorrow evening.
