Tizzard previews 'exciting' FA Youth Cup outing

By SFC Media Mon 22 Mar Saints vs Burton Albion

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On the eve of another outing at St Mary's, Southampton's Under-18s defender Will Tizzard talks of the excitement amongst the squad as they face Burton Albion in the FA Youth Cup fourth round.

THE MATCH
Saints vs Burton Albion
FA Youth Cup fourth round
St Mary’s Stadium
Tuesday 23rd March, 7pm GMT
LIVE on Facebook and southamptonfc.com UK ONLY (see below for details)

Saints will be looking to book their place in the fifth round against a team currently sitting fifth in Group A of the Football League Youth Alliance.

But the Brewers will be no easy feat, having beaten Saints’ fellow Under-18 Premier League side Stoke City 3-2 away from home in the previous round.

After seeing past Coventry City 3-0 in the previous round and ware of the challenge Tuesday night’s opponents will pose, Tizzard is keen to reiterate his side will treat this game like any other.

“We know they’re going to be a good team,” said the 18-year-old defender. “So we’ll prepare for them like we would any other side.

“I think we put in a great performance last round, for me the clean sheet was probably the biggest thing.

“We dominated the game really well and if we can take that into this round we’ll be alright.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Will Tizzard of Southampton during Premier League 2 match between Southampton B Team and Manchester United U23s at The Snows Stadium on February 27, 2021 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Isabelle Field/Southampton FC via Getty Images) — Will Tizzard in action against Manchester United in Premier League 2.

“Obviously all the lads can’t wait to play under the lights at St Mary’s, it makes the game all the more special.

“We’ve also played there before, we know what it’s like, now we can’t wait to get out there.”

Alongside the being the captain of the Under-18s side, Tizzard has enjoyed spells with the club’s B team set up as well this season.

“It’s definitely different stepping up a level to the B team. Higher tempo, but I’m just trying to learn as I go, improve as much as I can.

“It was a really good experience to get a better understanding of what a game is like for the B team [vs Manchester United in Premier League 2] and the playbook itself.

“It’s a fantastic way of playing and I think you have to try and learn as much as you can as quickly as possible.

“I’m just trying to set targets for myself and hopefully I can improve along the way.”

Southampton v Coventry City FA Youth cup at St Mary's Stadium. Southampton's Kazeem Olaigbe scores Saints first goal. — Ramello Mitchell (L) and Kazeem Olaigbe (R) celebrate scoring at St Mary's during the last round.

HOW TO WATCH LIVE:

You can watch Tuesday night’s game LIVE via southamptonfc.com and our official Facebook page.

Our FA Youth Cup coverage will start from 6:55pm GMT, before we bring you the full 90 minutes of action from St Mary’s.

There will also be live updates on our Twitter feed.