The third round of the FA Cup will commence this weekend, and Swansea City will host Premier League outfit Southampton at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Both teams head into the game out of form with the hosts having failed to win in their last three outings, while the Saints have only picked up one victory in their previous eight outings.
Match preview
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Swansea City have endured a long break due to COVID-19 as of late, having not kicked a ball since December 11, when they were defeated by Nottingham Forest.
Four goals in the second half put the game to bed as the Reds won 4-1, with Joel Piroe's strike proving to be nothing more than a consolation.
Prior to that, the Swans were handed defeats by Reading and Middlesbrough, and they will now be keen to get their season back on track by knocking out a Premier League side from the FA Cup.
Last season they were able to progress to the fifth round, beating Stevenage and Nottingham before eventually losing against Manchester City, and repeating that run would be a positive step for them.
With the club sat 17th in the league, a run of form in this competition could provide the momentum that the Welsh outfit needs to get themselves some more consistency.
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Southampton are also a team short of confidence at the moment, with the Saints having only picked up one victory in their last eight performances.
However, there has been an improvement as of late, with a draw against Crystal Palace being followed up by a 3-2 win against West Ham United.
In their most recent match, Ralph Hasenhuttl's team gained a point against Tottenham Hotspur, with James Ward-Prowse's strike helping them to the result.
The Saints currently sit 10 points above the relegation zone, being 14th in the Premier League table, but they will be hoping to go one step further in the FA Cup this time around.
Last season Southampton were able to reach the semi-final, having not conceded a single goal until that point when the eventual winners Leicester City defeated them 1-0.
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Team News
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After almost a month without a match Swansea City will be able to benefit from having a fresh team; however, there could be a lack of sharpness after such a break.
Michael Obafemi could end up starting against his former club on Saturday but Piroe will likely be hoping to maintain his place up front as well, especially since scoring in their most recent outing.
The FA Cup could provide an opportunity for experienced goalkeeper Willy Caballero to start, while Chelsea loanee Armando Broja will also be looking to continue his impressive season.
Alex McCarthy is still unavailable due to a thigh issue, but the Saints could be set to welcome Jack Stephens back following his bout with COVID-19.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Bennett, Downes, Cabango; Laird, Grimes, Smith, Manning; Ntcham, Paterson; Piroe
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Caballero; Walker-Peters, Valery, Bednarek, Stephens, Perraud; Armstrong, Diallo, Ward-Prowse; Broja, Long
We say: Swansea City 0-2 Southampton
Both teams will be hoping that this FA Cup tie will be the catalyst that gets their respective seasons back on track, placing pressure on this match.
However, Southampton do have the added quality that should be enough to see them through this fixture in order to secure their place in the fourth round.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Swansea City win with a probability of 40.62%. A win for Southampton had a probability of 33.96% and a draw had a probability of 25.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Swansea City win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.2%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.73%) and 2-0 (6.68%). The likeliest Southampton win was 0-1 (8.28%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.02%).
