Premier League side Southampton will host third-tier team Shrewsbury Town in a rescheduled FA Cup third round tie at the St. Mary’s Stadium this Tuesday evening. The match was postponed from January 9 after a slew of positive COVID-19 tests at Shrewsbury. The winner of this tie will go on to play Arsenal at home in the fourth round.
Southampton had to call off their scheduled Premier League visit to Leeds to accommodate this match, although it’s not so ideal for the Saints. They head into this match on the back of a 2-0 loss to Leicester City in the Premier League that saw them concede for the first time in four matches. That said, Southampton haven’t scored themselves in three of those four and an improvement in that front is needed to advance past Shrewsbury. Manager Hasenhuttl will make changes to the squad but may have Danny Ings back after he completed his COVID-19 quarantine. Young forward Nathan Tella could be pushing for a start and could be an interesting choice as a goal scorer.
Shrewsbury boss Cotterill will be absent for this match, as he is one of the 20 members to have contracted COVID-19. Although a number of those players are back in training, it is as yet unclear how many would be available for selection. The visitors are 17th in League One, three points above the relegation zone with a game in hand. They have had to play two games to reach this stage of the FA Cup. Wins came against League Two Cambridge United and non-league Oxford City 1-0 after extra time. However, due to the virus outbreak they are yet to play a match this calendar year since a 1-0 win against Blackpool at home in the League One on December 29.