Southampton: Saints draw Huddersfield Town in FA Cup Third-Round

Southampton have been drawn at home to Championship side Huddersfield Town in the Third-Round of the FA Cup.

The tie will be played at St Mary’s on the weekend of the 3rd-6th of January between Saints’ Premier League games against Spurs and Leicester City.

Huddersfield were top-flight opposition for Saints last season, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side claiming a 3-1 in Yorkshire before a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s on the last day of last season.

The Terriers eventually finished bottom of the Premier League and are now managed by Danny Cowley after the sacking of Jan Siewert back in August.

Whilst Saints have struggled once again this season, Huddersfield also find themselves down in 19th in the second-tier.

Saints will be looking to improve on their most recent FA Cup record overall.

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Despite a semi-final appearance back in the 2017/18 under Mark Hughes, their record is littered with exits at the third, fourth and fifth rounds.

Given the position that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side find themselves in the Premier League currently, it remains to be seen whether a full strength side will be put out by the Austrian.

Saints were knocked out in the Third-Round last campaign after a replay with Derby County, so improving on that will be progress.

Seven league games are still to be played before they start their FA Cup campaign this year, so results in these may affect the focus that Hasenhuttl puts into a cup run.

The path to Wembley via the FA Cup remains important to the fans though and has also proven valuable to previous Saints squads too.

Back in 2017/18, the run to the semi-finals was used to gather momentum and help fire the club to safety.