Town boss Roy Keane will have to decide whether to rest a few players for Saturday’s FA Cup trip to League One Southampton with two arguably more important Championship games following on Tuesday and next weekend. Midfielder David Norris, just back from a long-term knee problem, could be one of those left out.
The Blues are definitely without keeper Brian Murphy, who is not yet over his ankle injury, and Jon Stead, who serves the final game of his four-match ban. Murphy could be back in the squad for Tuesday’s home game with West Brom.
The Irishman’s absence means that Arran Lee-Barrett, who signed a new 18-month deal with the club on Thursday, will continue in goal.
Keane is likely to stick with the same back four as last week with Jaime Peters again impressing at left-back. Damien Delaney and Gareth McAuley will continue at the centre with Liam Rosenior at right-back.
In midfield, Keane may leave David Norris on the sidelines, having said that the former Plymouth man won’t play all three of this week’s games. In which case, Owen Garvan or Jack Colback will probably move into the centre of the midfield.
Garvan switching inside could see Jon Walters return to the right of midfield, while Carlos Edwards or perhaps even Lee Martin, who impressed Keane in the reserves earlier in the week, are alternative options for that role.
Walters noving back into the midfield would allow the Blues boss to pair two of Stern John, Pablo Couñago and Tamás Priskin up front. All three have been on the scoresheet this week, John and Couñago for the first team and Priskin for the reserves, and Keane will hope that at least one of them can get into a run of goalscoring form.
The Town manager says his side are improving in front of goal: "There are a few strikers starting to find form. Pablo coming on and scoring last week, that’s what you want from your substitutes, Stern got his first goal, Steady was in good form before that and Jack Colback is finding the net. So we’ve been hitting the net over the last few games, which is a big bonus.
"And that gives us a chance because we’ve been putting ourselves under far too much pressure over the last few months by not scoring enough goals.
"In the last few games we’ve averaged three goals a game at home - although obviously we’re away on Saturday - and it does help.”
Keane says Southampton are a better side than their position of 13th in League One suggests: "They’re a good team with a good manager. I watched them at the MK Dons on Tuesday when they played really well and had some good chances.
"It’s another tough game for us, another tough one after Blackpool [in the previous round]. When you consider the points deduction they had at the start of the season they should be well further up the table.
"Southampton’s a good club and you look at their manager, he was 10 seconds from the FA Cup as a manager at West Ham, only for Steven Gerrard to lash one in from 30 yards, so I’m sure the FA Cup will mean a lot to Alan Pardew and his team.
"It’ll be a tough game for us and we’ve got to make sure that it’s a tough game for them.”
Keane is a big fan of the FA Cup, having won it four times as a player, and feels that it's regaining its importance: "I think the competition was damaged a little bit. You go back to United when they pulled out to go to Brazil and over the last few years there’s been squad rotation with a lot of the bigger clubs, but you don’t see that any more in the FA Cup.
"I think it’s got its magic back. It had lost it for a few years, I know the crowds are down but that could be for a number of reasons — games called off, bad weather, people struggling financially — but the FA Cup still has its magic for me.”
Southampton have signed Southend striker Lee Barnard — who is yet to play in the FA Cup this season — while Saints frontman Matt Paterson has moved in the opposite direction. Barnard’s switch to St Mary’s suggests that manager Alan Pardew is no longer interested in Town striker Kevin Lisbie.
The Saints have French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin banned after receiving a red card against the MK Dons, while skipper Dean Hammond is out with a hamstring problem.
Defenders Rahdi Jaidi (eye) and Graeme Murty (ankle) are also sidelined but ex-Town left-back Dan Harding may be back after a midweek cold and frontman David Connolly, who played for Roy Keane at Sunderland, could return from a groin injury. Ex-Canary Jon Ostemobor, recent signing from Palace Jose Fonte and former Exeter man Dan Seaborne are both cup-tied.
Saints boss Alan Pardew says there's no reason why Town can't make the play-offs this season: "If you are going to bring in big Âchanges, sometimes you have to go backwards. I think that is what they did, but now they are going forwards fast.
"Roy has a great record at Championship level and who’s to say they won’t make a late run to get into the play-offs?”
The sides last met in the FA Cup at the third round stage in 1999/00 at Portman Road when the then-Premiership Saints won 1-0, Dean Richards scoring the game's only goal.
Southampton also won both the other two FA Cup meetings between the teams, also in round three, a 7-1 thrashing at the Dell in 1960/61 — Town’s record cup defeat - and a 3-2 victory in 1990/91, also in Hampshire. The Saints also won the only League Cup tie between the teams, running out 2-0 winners at Portman Road in 1990.
Last season, in Southampton's Championship relegation season, the sides drew 2-2 at St Mary's with Alan Quinn and Owen Garvan netting for the Blues and Andrew Surman and Tomas Pekhart scoring for the home side.
The Saints won 3-0 at Portman Road later in the season with Jason Euell scoring twice and Matt Paterson adding the third. Overall, Town have won 25 games between the sides, have drawn 18 and have lost 20.
The match will see Saints Kelvin Davis and Dan Harding face their old club, while keeper Bartosz Bialkowski was on loan at Portman Road last season without playing a game.
Current Blue Richard Wright spent time on loan at St Mary's while a West Ham player but won't be involved has he's out with a knee injury until March. Loan striker Stern John was with the Saints between his spells with Roy Keane's Sunderland and Crystal Palace.
Town boss Roy Keane is not a favourite at St Mary’s. In 2005 Keane fell out with Southampton fans while warming up when a Manchester United sub after responding to taunts by mocking their relegation.
Town are taking their largest away following this season of more than 3,000 to St Mary's. A limited number of tickets will be available on the day, from Ticket Office 3, cash only from 9am.
Saturday’s referee is Andy Hall from the West Midlands, who has shown a not insignificant 92 yellow and five red cards in 24 games so far this season. Hall’s last Town match was the recent 0-0 home draw with Peterborough, in which he showed only the one yellow card to Posh midfielder George Boyd.
Squad from: Lee-Barrett, McLoughlin, Peters, Rosenior, Delaney, McAuley, D Wright, Bruce, Balkestein, Leadbitter, Norris, Garvan, Colback, Edwards, Martin, Quinn, Walters, Couñago, John, Priskin, Wickham.