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High-flying Southampton begin their FA Cup campaign at home against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, hoping to build on last weekend's massive Liverpool victory.
The side from the south coast stunned the reigning Premier League champions with a 1-0 win at the St Mary's Stadium. The surprise result left manager Ralph Hasenhuttl in tears.
Southampton were without a win in the previous four top-flight games, even failing to score in the last three. The Saints bounced back with a statement win and showed renewed vigor against Liverpool.
This resurgence is not good news for Shrewsbury, who are struggling in the bottom half of the standings in the third division.
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However, they've been improving after a poor start and are currently unbeaten in eight league matches. The Blues did not concede in either of their two FA Cup games this season.
Southampton vs Shrewsbury Town Head-To-Head
Since Shrewsbury have never played in the Premier League before, the sides have clashed only 17 times in history. Southampton, unsurprisingly, lead the record with nine victories to Shrewsbury's four.
The upcoming clash will be their first since November 2010 when they met in the FA Cup's first round. On that occasion, the Saints went through after a dramatic 2-0 victory sealed by stoppage-time goals.
Southampton Form Guide (all competitions): D-L-D-D-W
Shrewsbury Town Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-W-D-W
Southampton vs Shrewsbury Town Team News
Southampton
The home side will be without Jannik Vestegaard and Nathan Redmond, both of whom are injured. However, Hasenhuttl will be tempted to make some changes to the lineup which beat Liverpool as they next travel to Leicester.
Injured: Jannik Vestegaard and Nathan Redmond
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Shrewsbury Town
Even though there are no confirmed injuries for the Shrews, the club recently announced several COVID-19 infections within the squad. That means that there are like to be some absentees. However, they have not disclosed the names of the players who've tested positive.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: All COVID-19 positive players
Southampton vs Shrewsbury Town Predicted XI
Southampton (4-4-2): Fraser Forster; Kyle Walker-Peters, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens, Ryan Bertrand; Stuart Armstrong, Ibrahima Diallo, James Ward-Prowse, Moussa Djenepo; Che Adams, Shane Long
Shrewsbury Town (3-4-1-2): Harry Burgoyne; Ro-Shaun Williams, Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Aaron Pierre; Joshua Tracey, Ollie Norburn, Josh Vela, Charles Daniels; Jan Zamburek; Shaun Whalley, Daniel Udoh
Southampton vs Shrewsbury Town Prediction
Shrewsbury will be missing some first-team players due to COVID-19, and that will make life difficult for the visitors in this match.
The Saints are the clear favorites in this game and they should win comfortably.
Prediction: Southampton 3-0 Shrewsbury Town
