Carabao Cup Preview | Cardiff City vs. Southampton
Cardiff City host Southampton in Round Two of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, August 28th.
The fixture will take place at Cardiff City Stadium, kicking off at 19.45pm.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | IN THE DUGOUT
Southampton’s manager is Russell Martin, who began his role at St Mary’s Stadium in June 2023, having previously managed Swansea City.
In his playing days, Martin played as a centre-back for the likes of Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough, before representing Norwich City in over 250 league matches.
Switching to management in November 2019, his first role was with MK Dons.
In August 2021, Martin moved to Swansea City, where he finished 15th and 10th in the Sky Bet Championship during his tenure.
Achieving promotion with Southampton last season through the Play-Offs, he has won 30 of his 56 matches in charge of the Saints, with a win percentage of 53.57%.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | SEASON SO FAR
Southampton began their season with a trip to St James’ Park on the opening day, facing Newcastle United.
The Saints fell to a 1-0 defeat thanks to a goal from Joelinton, despite the hosts being down to 10 men from the 28th minute onwards, after Fabian Schär was red carded.
This past weekend, they faced Nottingham Forest at St Mary’s Stadium, which ended in the same result.
The key moment came in the 70th minute, when Morgan Gibbs-White netted the winning goal for Forest.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | SUMMER BUSINESS
It’s been a busy transfer window for the Saints, who have brought in no less than 15 players this summer.
Following their successful loans last season, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Flynn Downes were signed on permanent deals, while striker Cameron Archer and Mateus Fernandes have also been recruited for substantial fees.
The Saints have also made the permanent signings of attacker Ben Brereton Díaz and defenders Yukinari Sugawara, Nathan Wood and Ronnie Edwards.
Utilising the free transfer market, fellow defenders Welington and Charlie Taylor have been added to their squad, while midfielder Adam Lallana and striker Rento Takaoka have also been brought in.
Midfielder Kyryu Matsuki was signed from FC Tokyo, as well as striker Juan from São Paulo, before both going out on loan to Turkish side Göztepe. Finally, midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu has been acquired on a loan deal from Chelsea.
CITY FLASHBACK | PREVIOUS MEETING
The last clash between these two sides came in April this year in a memorable Sky Bet Championship fixture.
It was a day of ‘firsts’ at Cardiff City Stadium, with Cian Ashford making his first league start.
There were also First Team debuts for Raheem Conte and Luey Giles, who both impressed after being introduced from the bench.
But it was Ashford who took the headlines, netting a dramatic late winner to claim a fantastic 2-1 victory, after Famara Diédhiou had found an equaliser for City.