Southampton vs Stoke Preview, Prediction, Team News and Confirmed Lineups

Championship outfit Stoke take on Premier League strugglers Southampton in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Tuesday, and we’ve got the latest team news and confirmed lineups, as well as a prediction included in our preview.

Southampton vs Stoke Preview

The Carabao Cup returns with the fourth round on Tuesday evening, with Southampton welcoming Championship side Stoke City to St. Mary’s as the pair look to advance to the final eight of the competition.

Russell Martin’s Saints come into the tie in pretty dreadful form, still yet to record a league victory this term. The south coast club have lost each of their last four matches and find themselves rock bottom of the Premier League table.

Their journey in the League Cup so far this term has seen them beat Cardiff City 5-3 in the Welsh capital in round two before advancing to the fourth round with a penalty shootout victory against Everton in round three.

Stoke, meanwhile, are in 19th place in the second-tier table, just one point clear of the drop zone.

Narcis Pelach’s side fell to a 2-0 defeat against Sheffield United at the weekend, bringing an end to their four-game unbeaten run, albeit three of those being draws.

To get to this stage of the competition, the Potters dispatched League Two outfit Carlisle 2-0 in the first round and followed that up with a majorly impressive 5-0 win against Middlesbrough two weeks later. In the last round, they played out a 1-1 stalemate against Fleetwood Town before advancing thanks to an uninspiring 2-1 win on penalties.

Tuesday night’s tie will see the pair meet for the first time in over six months. The last meeting ended in a 1-0 triumph to Stoke at St. Mary’s, with the sole goal coming courtesy of Tyrese Campbell in the first-half.

Southampton Team News

The hosts will be boosted by the return of Ryan Fraser against the Potters, with the Scotsman being eligible for selection once again after serving a suspension at the weekend for his red card against Leicester the weekend prior.

Saints boss Martin though, won’t be on the touchline, as he has been suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards.

As for injuries, Will Smallbone (thigh), Gavin Bazunu (achilles) and Ross Stewart (calf) are all ruled out, while midfielder Flynn Downes is a doubt after picking up a knock against Manchester City.

Stoke Team News

The visitors, meanwhile, are without Sam Gallagher (calf), Bosun Lawal (back), Lyndon Gooch (ligament) and Ben Pearson (hamstring) through injury.

Key midfielder Wouter Burger was a doubt for the trip to Sheffield United at the weekend after suffering a foot injury, but the Dutchman was deemed fit to start and should therefore have a role to play on Tuesday.

Southampton vs Stoke Confirmed Lineups

Southampton Lineup:

Ramsdale; Sugawara, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Bree; Ugochukwu, Fernandes, Aribo; Fraser, Archer, Armstrong

Stoke City Lineup:

Bonham; Tchamadeu, Dixon, Phillips, Rose, Bocat; Seko, Thompson, Sidibe, Vidigal; Cannon

Southampton vs Stoke Prediction

We at SportsCasting believe that this fixture has potential to be the biggest and perhaps the only upset of the round, with Southampton among some of the most out-of-form teams in the country heading into the tie.

Of course, Stoke themselves aren’t in the greatest of form, just about floating above the Championship’s relegation zone, but as they proved against Middlesbrough in the second round, they have the ability to step up in cup competitions.

As they did when they last visited St. Mary’s in Apil, we’re backing the Potters to claim a narrow 1-0 victory against their Premier League counterparts to advance to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Prediction: Southampton 0-1 Stoke