Monday Briefing: March 22nd

Southampton booked their spot in the last four of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday with a convincing 3-0 win over south coast rivals Bournemouth.

Reaching the semi-final stage for just the second time in the last 18 seasons, Saints put themselves in a commanding position at the halfway stage thanks to strikes from Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond.

Redmond’s second of the afternoon ensured quarter-final victory after the restart, with Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side still yet to concede a goal in this season’s competition.

Semi-final opponent confirmed

Heading to Wembley Stadium next month, Saints will face Premier League counterparts Leicester City for the chance to reach the Emirates FA Cup final.

The Foxes saw off Manchester United in the quarter-final with a 3-1 victory at King Power Stadium.

Manchester City will take on Chelsea in the other semi-final, with both ties taking place over the weekend of Saturday April 17th, meaning Southampton's home Premier League match against Crystal Palace will be given a revised date.

Ward-Prowse included in England squad

James Ward-Prowse has been named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the first batch of World Cup qualifiers later this month.

The Saints skipper is one of seven midfielders in the 26-man selection for the games against San Marino, Albania and Poland.

Elsewhere, Ché Adams has received a first call-up for Scotland alongside teammate Stuart Armstrong. Keep an eye on southamptonfc.com for a full Saints international guide.

First April TV selections confirmed

Two of Southampton’s Premier League matches scheduled for April have been selected for live television coverage, as part of the first batch of picks for the coming month.
The following games are now scheduled to take place as detailed:

• Saints vs Burnley – Sunday 4th April, kick-off 12 noon (Live on Sky Sports)

• West Brom vs Saints – Monday 12th April, kick-off 6pm (Live on Sky Sports)

Update on Women’s season

Southampton FC Women’s 2020/21 league season has been curtailed with immediate effect and declared incomplete, following the Football Association’s latest update on Tiers 3-6 of the women’s game.

The FA Women’s Football Board today announced the decision to conclude all campaigns at those levels without promotion or relegation, as also happened in 2019/20, after the Covid-19 pandemic once again halted fixtures for a number of months.

However, the FA Women’s Football Board has announced plans for a process of upward club movement, allowing applications for teams to move into a higher tier in 2021/22, with the likelihood of expanded divisions to accommodate this, meaning that progression still remains a possibility for clubs despite seasons officially concluding.

Draw made for ePremier League Finals

The draw for next week’s ePremier League Finals has been revealed, with Southampton’s duo awarded their seeding.

The 40 best UK-based players of EA SPORTS’ FIFA 21 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will go head-to-head at London’s Gfinity Arena, with Saints represented by Joseph ‘Royal Funky’ Crown (Xbox) and Ethan ‘EthxnH’ Higgins (PS4).

Seeded 13th, ‘Royal Funky’ has been placed in Group D alongside 2018/19 ePL champion Donovan ‘Fnatic Tekkz’ Hunt, who once again will represent Liverpool.

In the PlayStation 4 side of the competition, ‘EthxnH’ has been seeded fifth and drawn in Group D, where he will come up against fourth-seed Shaun ‘Shellz’ Springette, who will be representing Manchester City.

B team narrowly lose out to Liverpool

Southampton's B team suffered defeat in Premier League 2 on Sunday as Liverpool claimed all three points at Snows Stadium.

Joe Hardy notched his second goal of the season after just five minutes to give Liverpool the lead.

But the hosts levelled ten minutes later, Luke Pearce making his first start of the season for Southampton’s B team rounding the keeper before producing a composed finish.

Saints dominated the game following the equaliser but were caught out on the break as Hardy claimed his second of the afternoon in the 39th minute.