Norwich City vs Southampton. The FA Cup Third Round.
Carrow Road.
Saturday 7 January 2017 15:28, UK
Southampton boss Claude Puel has a decision to make over captain Jose Fonte after the defender handed in a transfer request earlier this week as they prepare to travel to Norwich on Saturday.
The Saints go into the FA Cup third-round match at Carrow Road on the back of a hectic festive schedule which saw them play three Premier League games in the space of 117 hours.
Despite losing all three games, Puel is still hoping for progress in the FA Cup and a packed schedule between now and the end of the season.
"It's an important week because it's the future of our season," Puel said. "We've got to play three games in a week in different competitions. I think at the end of this week we will know the calendar and I hope it is full, with many games, and that we can continue to play every three days."
Team news
Norwich midfielder Graham Dorrans (knee) has been ruled out for around two months, while Louis Thompson is still not yet available.
James Maddison has returned from his loan spell at Aberdeen but Neil has confirmed he won't be involved yet. Matt Jarvis will make his return to the squad and could make his first appearance of the season.
Virgil van Dijk is available for Southampton after a ban but it is unlikely he will feature as Charlie Austin (shoulder), Matt Targett (hamstring) and Jeremy Pied (knee) all remain long-term absentees.
Puel is expected to shuffle his pack and give some of his younger players a chance ahead of the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool next week.
Opta stats
This will be the fourth FA Cup tie between Norwich and Southampton, with the Saints winning most recently in the fifth round in February 2003 on their way to the final that year where they lost to Arsenal.
The only previous FA Cup meeting between the sides at Carrow Road came in a sixth-round replay in March 1992 - Norwich won 2-1.
The Canaries have progressed from just four of their last 18 third round ties, and have failed to do so in each of the last three seasons, losing 3-0 to Manchester City last season.
Southampton haven't scored on any of their last three visits to Carrow Road, all Premier League matches between March 2013 and January 2016 (D1 L2).
Oriol Romeu scored in his only FA Cup appearance for Southampton, against Crystal Palace last January.
