The Sky Sports pundit has predicted a five-goal thriller at St Mary’s this evening as Southampton look for a third straight win in all competitions.
Writing his midweek predictions for Sky Sports, Charlie Nicholas has outlined his belief that Southampton’s clash with Crystal Palace may well turn out to be the pick of the EFL Cup third round fixtures.
Both sides have been in the goals of late, with Saints scoring three past Sparta Prague in the Europa League last week and Palace notching four against Stoke at the weekend, and Nicholas believes this sets the game on the south coast up very nicely indeed.
“This is an interesting one and it could well be the tie of the round,” he wrote for Sky Sports. “I think both teams to score is a great bet, with both sides playing positively after good results at the weekend.”
The former Arsenal star thinks Southampton will emerge victorious, tipping the home side for a 3-2 victory with Charlie Austin to score first. The 27-year-old is certainly in good form, having scored twice in Europe and netted the winner in the weekend win over Swansea.
As is tradition in the League Cup, however, both teams are likely to be much-changed from their weekend exploits with squad players given a chance to impress.
James Ward Prowse could start for Southampton this evening
For the hosts, this could mean starts for James Ward-Prowse, Matt Targett and Maya Yoshida, all of whom have found league appearances relatively hard to come by this season.
Alan Pardew has said that he will make changes to his side, which is likely to mean opportunities for Connor Wickham, Bakary Sako, Jordon Mutch and Chung-yong Lee to make their mark from the start. Wayne Hennessey or Julian Speroni are likely to play in goal – if Pardew opts for the latter, Speroni will set an all-time record for Crystal Palace goalkeeping appearances.
The Crystal Palace manager won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy with Southampton in 2010, but left St Mary’s under a cloud and his former supporters will be keen to get one over their old boss this evening.
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew
Southampton and Crystal Palace have recent history in cup competition, as the Eagles have knocked Saints out of the FA Cup on their own turf in each of the past two seasons. Home fans will be hoping to avoid an unwanted hat-trick of cup defeats to the south London outfit this evening as Claude Puel continues to put his stamp on his new side.
Do you agree with Charlie Nicholas? Will this be the tie of the round, and who will come out on top? Leave your thoughts below.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
