U18 Preview: Coventry City vs Saints

Coventry City vs Saints

FA Youth Cup Third Round

Coventry Building Society Arena

Saturday 3rd December, 15:00 GMT

Southampton start their FA Youth Cup campaign with a trip to Coventry City as both sides enter the competition in the third round.

The young Saints come into the fixture in a good vein of form with a five-game unbeaten run under their belts.

They were only denied three points in their last match by a late equaliser from Brighton in a 1-1 draw on Monday evening.

Coventry City play in the Under-18s Professional Development League 2 and currently sit second-bottom in the Northern division.

They come into their first FA Youth Cup fixture off the back of two successive draws in their league campaign.

Both sides have actually met before in this competition when they were drawn together in the same round during the 2020/21 season.

With St Mary's Stadium hosting the tie, Saints ran out 3-0 winners courtesy of goals from Kazeem Olaigbe, Sam Bellis, and Kegs Chauke.

Saints will be expected to field a strong side for their FA Youth Cup clash as they look to progress further than they did last season when they exited at the third round stage.

With several Under-18s players enjoying key roles in the B team this season, the likes of Dom Ballard, Kamari Doyle, and Jimmy-Jay Morgan are expected to return to their own age group for the Youth Cup tie.

Ahead of the fixture, Ballard said: "We're really looking forward to it, the lads are well prepared and we'll be going for it.

"All the teams put out their strongest sides [in the FA Youth Cup] so it's good to see where you are in England, and I think we're one of the strongest sides.

"Everyone just wants to get out there now and show what we can do after last year."

TICKET INFORMATION

Adults: £5
Under-16: £1
CASH ONLY

Tickets are available on the day only, with turnstiles 20 and 21 open from 2pm.