Southampton host Shrewsbury Town in the rearranged FA Cup third round tie aiming to get back to winning ways following their 2-0 defeat at Leicester City in the Premier League.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have suffered yet another injury setback following that Leicester defeat with Will Smallbone having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. That will only add to the Saints’ major injury concerns at the moment, with the likes of Moussa Djenepo, Oriol Romeu, Yannik Vestergaard and Danny Ings among those to have been sidelined of late.
There are also injury issues with the likes of Nathan Redmond, Nathan Tella and Michael Obafemi, while Mohammed Salisu is also a doubt. That leaves Hasenhuttl with a very limited number of options to call upon against Shrewsbury and he will have to balance between resting important players and fielding a strong enough side.
The Saints made it through to the fourth round of the competition last term after securing a 2-0 win against Huddersfield Town at St Mary’s. In the end, Tottenham Hotspur knocked them out in a replay at that stage, winning 3-2 after a 1-1 draw in the first game. [Transfermarkt]
Southampton are in the position where they could put a lot of focus on the FA Cup this season given the strong position they occupy in the Premier League. However, injuries might have taken away their ability to give everything towards a long run in the competition.
Hasenhuttl’s side will still be favourites against their League One opponents and they should have enough quality to make it through to the next round. A game against Arsenal in the fourth round awaits the winners and then there is the potential meeting with the winners of the tie between Wolves and non-league Chorley in the fifth round.
Here is how we think that Southampton could line-up against Shrewsbury, with seven changes potentially on the cards from the team which started at Leicester three days ago…
