Southampton will kick-start their 2022/23 Carabao Cup campaign on Tuesday night, visiting League One side Cambridge United in a first ever competitive visit. This and more in today’s Match Pack…
THE MATCH
Cambridge United vs Saints
Carabao Cup – round two
Abbey Stadium
Tuesday 23rd August, 7.45pm BST
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: David Rock
Assistants: Michael Chard, Gary Maskell
Fourth official: Alan Young
WHICH KIT WILL SAINTS BE WEARING?
Saints will be wearing their white and red home shirt with white shorts and socks for the trip East.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
There’s plenty more on the line than just a third-round spot as Saints head to Abbey Stadium on Tuesday night.
With an upturn in form in the Premier League comes more competition for places in the starting XI; the trip to Cambridge posing an opportunity for those on the fringes to impress ahead of the visits of Manchester United and Chelsea next week.
For Tuesday’s hosts they’ll be looking to go one further in the competition than they did last year – coming away from Championship side Millwall with a 3-1 defeat.
With a mixed bag of results domestically, Tuesday’s game gives the side an opportunity to take their mind off everything League One and focus on the exciting prospect of a cup run.
TEAM NEWS
Cambridge battled to a hard-earned point at Charlton at the weekend, with a few players needing checks ahead of Tuesday night.
George Williams, Lloyd Jones, Greg Taylor and Harrison Dunk are the ones being assessed, whilst the rest of the squad are in good condition.
Saints came out of their victory at Leicester unscathed, but the likes of Romain Perraud and Tino Livramento remain out.
THE MANAGERS
Mark Bonner: “We’d love to try and progress, but we want to make sure we put on a performance that shows we can be competitive. I don’t think we could have got a better draw.”
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “We must take every competition we play in 100% seriously. We want to go as far as possible and we’ve had a good record in the last few years in this competition. We want to do it again.”
ONE TO WATCH
Sékou Mara: Fresh off of his first start for the club at Leicester, the young Frenchman showed promising signs in the hour he was on the pitch. Showing his creative capabilities with his assist against Leeds, Mara will be looking at a game like this to truly stamp his mark on proceedings in a Southampton shirt.
Sam Smith: An incisive striker who’s already shown glimpses of what he’s capable of this season for Bonner’s side. Smith has two goals involvements from the opening five games and poses a threat through his pace and strong finishing ability.
TOP PERFORMERS
2022/23 statistics inclusive of all competitions
CAMBRIDGE
Goals:
Harvey Knibbs 2
Liam O’Neil, Sam Smith, Joe Ironside, Paul Digby 1
Assists:
Jack Lankester 2
Liam O’Neil, Sam Smith, James Brophy, George Williams 1
SAINTS
Goals:
Ché Adams 2
James Ward-Prowse, Joe Aribo, Kyle Walker-Peters 1
Assists:
James Ward-Prowse, Sékou Mara, Adam Armstrong, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Moussa Djenepo 1
DID YOU KNOW?
Southampton have won nine of their last 10 League Cup games against sides from the third tier or lower, with the exception being a 1-0 loss to Sheffield United in the 2014-15 quarter-final.
KEEP UP TO DATE
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