Southampton v Norwich Betting Preview – FA Cup 18th January 7.45pm
Is there still a hint of an FA Cup upset happening in this one and the two played out a 2-2 draw at Carrow Road? Southampton have fallen out of form and they are having to juggle a tough fixture list at the moment because of their involvement in the EFL Cup semi final. The Canaries haven’t been on top of their game out on the road lately but if the Saints are resting players for this one then the visitors could push hard on the south coast. There could be some life left in his one. The winner of this tie faces Arsenal at home in the fourth round.
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Southampton v Norwich Betting Tips
This should be one of the most exciting games of the third round replays. The first attempt was a 2-2 draw and the fact that Southampton are not exactly running on top form at the moment means that this one is firmly in the balance here. Southampton made plenty of changes from their regular Premier League starting line up to go to Carrow Road with. They almost had it won as well, which they would have liked to have done at the first attempt, because they have a stacked fixture list at the moment as they are duelling Liverpool in the EFL Cup semi final. Southampton have gone just W1 D1 L4 in their last six matches played across all competitions. They probably won’t be at full strength here, and their record at St Mary’s this season in all competitions reads W9 D4 L3. They have a W2 D1 L2 in their last five there. Interesting, five of the nine home wins this season have been by a 1-0 scoreline and each of their last three home wins have done so.
You have a price of 6/1 on a Southampton 1-0 correct score at Bet365. This is probably going to be a bit more tense than the first leg and there is a great price of even money on the game going under 2.5 goals which looks a tempting proposition for punters to get stuck into. Jay Rodriguez and Shane Long are running as even money favourites in the anytime goalscorer market, but wait for starting lineups to assess your options. The Saints are running on a four match unbeaten streak at home against Norwich with a W2 D2 record and they have scored at least two goals in three of those four match ups. Norwich are not likely going to be as open as they were at home for this reply so that could keep the scoreline down. Norwich survived thanks to a late equaliser from from Steven Naismith, but on balance the draw was a fair result.
Norwich do have plenty of scoring power in their ranks and they haven’t had any problems in scoring in the Championship. Only Barnsley and Newcastle have scored more than league goals than they have. After such a bright start to the season, the Canaries have been really struggling for positives since around back in mid-October. Norwich have gone W5 D4 L9 in their last 18 across all competitions. That’s a pretty hefty amount of losses which damage confidence, but they showed up well enough against Southampton in the first match up to suggest that they can blow off steam in this one and make a go of it. Alex Neil is coming under some pressure from the Norwich fans and unfortunately they have a D1 L6 record in their last seven away from Carrow Road and they have gone winless in their last nine on the road. They may as well leave it all on the table as underdogs.
Southampton v Norwich Betting Odds
Southampton 3/5, Draw 3/1, Norwich 11/2
Southampton v Norwich Predictions
The Canaries were lucky to pull the draw out of the bag in the first leg and even though Southampton may use this as a chance to rest some players, it is worth backing them to take the win in this one under 2.5 goals. Norwich were pretty spirited in the first match up, but Alex Neil’s men are likely to just fall short on the south coast.
