Southampton could potentially enter February with a place in the EFL Cup final and fifth round of the FA Cup to their name. Alternatively, the Saints could suffer swift eliminations from both tournaments if results do not go in their favour in the next few days.
Hosting Newcastle United in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final on Tuesday evening, Southampton held out for 73 minutes – largely thanks to some wasteful Newcastle finishing – before Joelinton finally got one right, tapping home to seal a 1-0 win for the Magpies.
A one-goal deficit is hardly impossible for Southampton to make up as they prepare for a journey to St James’ Park for the second leg on Tuesday, and they already have the know-how when it comes to defeating fellow top-flight teams away from home in cup tournaments.
Indeed, James Ward-Prowse and Adam Armstrong cancelled out Odsonne Edouard’s opener as Jones’s side beat Palace in the third round of the FA Cup, which marked the start of a three-game winning run for the South Coast side before a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League last weekend.
Southampton are out to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the third time in a row this year – having reached the 2020-21 semi-finals and 2021-22 quarters – but losing four of their last five home games does not stand the 20th-placed Premier League side in good stead.
In the 2021-22 season, it was Nottingham Forest’s turn to make waves against Premier League sides in the FA Cup – including a 4-1 thumping of then-champions Leicester City. Fast-forward one year, though, and Blackpool have inflicted an identical defeat on the Tricky Trees.
Marvin Ekpiteta scored the only goal of a relatively low-key first half, but the floodgates opened after the break as Ian Poveda, CJ Hamilton and Jerry Yates all made the net ripple before Ryan Yates netted a late consolation for the shell-shocked visitors.
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That thrashing of Forest was in stark contrast to their dismal Championship affairs, as Mick McCarthy takes over a Blackpool side who are now winless in 10 consecutive second-tier matches after going down 2-0 to Watford in their most recent contest on January 14.
The Tangerines – who sit second from bottom in the Championship table – were due to take on Huddersfield Town last week before a frozen pitch led to the postponement of the match, giving them ample time to rest, recuperate and become accustomed to McCarthy’s methods.
McCarthy’s men are aiming to snap a five-game run without a win on rival territory in a bid to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2011-12, which also marks the last campaign that they faced Southampton – drawing 2-2 at St Mary’s before a 3-0 win on home soil in the Championship.
