Southampton vs Derby County: F.A Cup – Opposition Threats
By Harry Tizard
Southampton will be looking to book their spot in the fourth round of the F.A Cup for the third year in a row as they face Derby at St. Marys on Wednesday night.
Both Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl and Rams manager Frank Lampard will be aiming to win their first F.A Cup match in their managerial careers, with both debuting in the competition eleven days prior to the upcoming encounter.
Neither side could grab a winning goal at Pride Park, with a Nathan Redmond double cancelled out by two goals in three minutes by the home side – meaning that the tie was forced back to St. Marys.
Looking at the opposition for the upcoming match, Derby sit in sixth position in the Championship table, two points in front of seventh placed Bristol City, and seven points off the automatic promotion places.
The Rams come into the game off the back of a 2-0 loss to Championship leaders Leeds United, with the side still searching for their first win in 2019.
Southampton, however, will be going into the match with contrasting fortunes to the visitors. Hasenhuttl has lead the Saints to an unbeaten start to 2019, (one win, two draws) and will be in high spirits after a resounding away win against Leicester City.
Despite all of this, it is likely both managers will field a much changed side with league performance imperative to the respective clubs. Derby have aspirations of promotion to the Premier League, so are likely to not field their strongest starting eleven due to the congested fixture list.
In a similar way, Southampton sit just one point above the relegation zone, so are likely to rest key players and prioritize their upcoming league match against Everton on Saturday.
With all this considered, here are the three Derby players that Southampton should look out for on Wednesday night.