For the first time in seven years, Southampton will face Portsmouth in a competitive fixture.
The South Coast derby is one of the fiercest rivalries in English football and for almost a decade it has been avoided due to the difference in standards between the two sides.
Southampton, who play in the top tier of English football, will travel to Fratton Park on Tuesday evening, to take on Portsmouth of League One – the third tier of English football – in the most anticipated fixture for both sets of fans in years.
The match is courtesy of the EFL Cup, with the winners progressing through to the third round of the competition, and though that is ultimately the aim, getting one over on each other after so many years will certainly rank higher than anything else come 19:45 in east Hampshire.
Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has said that he will be picking his strongest possible starting line-up for the short trip down the M27, as he knows just how important this game is for the club.
Here’s how Southampton fans reacted to that on Twitter; some were clearly still reeling from the Austrian’s team selection against Bournemouth on Friday night.
Hopefully a left back @ LB & a right back @ RB ♂️
— eduardo mush (@Sh1thouse2) September 23, 2019
Controversial idea: play them in their right positions too…
— Ed Bazza (@EdBazza) September 23, 2019
— Jay (@ffsJxy) September 23, 2019
— Ash (@ashley_whiteway) September 23, 2019
Please do Ralph, as sadly we couldn’t say the same of Friday night. Things looked better second half but by then the damage had already been done.
— Steve Jarvis (@SteveJarvisSFC7) September 23, 2019
strongest possible XI? so with a right back at right back and a left back at left back then?
— ⚽️ (@SaintProwsey) September 23, 2019
Saints fans, how excited are you for Tuesday’s clash? Let us know by commenting below!
