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Southampton: Three Bold Predictions for Saints’ 2020-21 season

By Erik Franzo

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - JULY 19: Che Adams of Southampton celebrates with Kyle Walker-Peters of Southampton after scoring his sides second goal during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Southampton FC at Vitality Stadium on July 19, 2020 in Bournemouth, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Ian Walton/Pool via Getty Images)
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - JULY 19: Che Adams of Southampton celebrates with Kyle Walker-Peters of Southampton after scoring his sides second goal during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Southampton FC at Vitality Stadium on July 19, 2020 in Bournemouth, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Ian Walton/Pool via Getty Images) /
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Southampton’s Italian striker Manolo Gabbiadini (L) celebrates (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Southampton’s Italian striker Manolo Gabbiadini (L) celebrates (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) /

Southampton Will Reach A Cup Final

Ok, reaching a Cup Final is incredibly rare and Southampton were just there in 2016-17, but forget the odds and think about the opportunity.

Top six teams still dominate cup competition with incredible roster depth, although these clubs increasingly prioritize European glory and will be affected by a crammed fixture schedule.  Think about Liverpool’s approach to the Carabao Cup quarter final where they essentially sent the U23’s to take on Aston Villa. The short layoff from the end of project restart could also negatively impact “bigger” clubs, but it is recent history which leads to the potential Southampton migration to Wembley.

Let’s look at non top six sides participating in last two years quarter finals from the English Cups:

Carabao Cup 2019-20

Aston Villa, Leicester, Everton, Oxford and Colchester

Carabao Cup 2018-19

Middlesborough, Burton Albion, Leicester, Bournemouth

FA Cup 2019-20

Norwich, Sheffield, Newcastle, Leicester

FA Cup 2018-19

Watford, Palace, Swansea, Wolves, Millwall, Brighton

Yes, it is easy to argue that the teams that get to, and win, the finals of cup competition are typically from the top six, but these results show making a run is legitimately possible.  Leicester City has made three out of the four of those groups and there is no reason to think Southampton cannot make a similar run with the right manager at the helm.  Seeing lower level clubs advancing this far combined with the bosses’ ambition to win anything and everything, the Saints are poised to reach a second Cup Final in under 5 years.

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