Southampton visit the university city
In the first round of the unloved League Cup in England the Premier League teams still had a bye, in the second round now those teams intervene who are not represented internationally. On Tuesday and Wednesday, 24 games will be played, including the clash between Cambridge and Southampton.
The League Cup is basically the fastest way to Europe, but it doesn’t really have much prestige in England. The top teams in particular tend to field a B or even C team in the Carabao Cup, as the competition is currently called, due to the enormous workload. Nevertheless, the first division team is the clear favourite in this clash, with bookmakers offering odds of around 1.40 for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s Saints to win the match between Cambridge and Southampton.
The home side from the university city are currently at home in the third-tier League One, but surprised in the first cup round at the beginning of August with a win against the second-tier Milwall. Can they surprise again? The match kicks off at the Abbey Stadium at 20:45.
Cambridge – Statistics & current form
Nobody probably associates the city of Cambridge with football, instead the world famous university is the first association. Footballing success is indeed rare, as “The U’s” spent the majority of the club’s 100-year history in the lowlands of English amateur football. Head coach Mark Bonner’s team currently plays in the third-tier League One, and Cambridge United have never played higher than that.
Home advantage as a glimmer of hope
Engagingly linked with the success of recent years is head coach Mark Bonner.Starting as co-coach in 2018, the now 36-year-old has been head coach since 2020 and managed promotion to League One in his first full season. In 14th place in the table, the promoted side reached a secure mid-table position and never had relegation worries at any point during the season.
One advantage this season is the continuity in the squad. After last season’s strong performance, the team managed to keep the regular players. New players were only brought in selectively. In the third-tier League One, five games have already been played and “The U’s” have collected seven points. The home strength is striking, as Cambridge United won both home games at the Abbey Stadium.
In addition to the two home games in the league, they also won the first round match in the EFL Cup, which was also a revenge for the previous season. Last year they lost 3-1 to Milwall in the second round, but this season they won 1-0 against the capital team. So home advantage is the big encourager. However, it is still not realistic to predict a home win between Cambridge and Southampton.
Predicted Cambridge line-up:
Mitov – Dunk, Jones, Okedina, Williams – Digby, May – Brophy, Knibbs, Tracey – Smith
Last Cambridge games:
League One
20/08/2022 – Charlton 1 – 1 Cambridge U
17/08/2022 – Portsmouth 4 – 1 Cambridge U
13/08/2022 – Cambridge U 2 – 1 Exeter
06/08/2022 – Oxford 1 – 0 Cambridge U
Carabao Cup
03/08/2022 – Cambridge U 1 – 0 Millwall
Southampton – Statistics & current form
An Austrian professional footballer is not to be seen in the Premier League this season, but the Premier League will not be completely without red-white-red participation in 2022/23. Finally, Ralph Hasenhüttl has been head coach at Southampton since December 2018. During his tenure, he has already experienced some difficult phases, but has always been able to repay the great trust placed in him.
Currently, the Austrian is under criticism again, as there is talk in the English media that the veterans have lost confidence in their head coach. Ten of the last 13 Premier League games in 2021/22 were lost, yet the club once again held on to the Austrian.
Lots of talent signed
Not the coach was changed, but plenty of personnel. Southampton are looking at a major squad shake-up and have invested over €50 million in new arrivals. What is particularly striking is the young age of many of the new arrivals. Players like Gavin Bazunu, Romeo Lavia (both Manchester City), Armel Bella-Kotchap (VFL Bochum) or Sekou Mara (Girondins Bordeaux) have a great future ahead of them. Southampton does not buy ready-made stars, but young players are turned into such and ideally sold at a high price later on.
Sooner or later, however, Hasenhüttl will have to deliver again to silence the critics. After the clear 1:4 opening defeat against Tottenham, there was a 2:2 draw against Leeds United in the second game, before a 2:1 victory away at Leicester last weekend. What was striking in the last two games was the high morale, as the Saints showed comeback qualities against both Leeds and Leicester. In the clash with the Foxes, wild card Che Adams scored a brace to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win.
These two games in no way underline the media reports that the team lacks confidence in the coach. After the sense of achievement in the league, it is now a matter of continuing to build up self-confidence. Southampton will certainly rotate a lot, but the visitors will have far more quality. And due to the ongoing criticism, the team will not take the game lightly. Between Cambridge and Southampton, this argues for a prediction on the favourites winning, and a handicap win wouldn’t be surprising either.
Predicted line-up of Southampton:
McCarthy – Djenepo, Lyanco, Bedanrek, Valery – Diallo, Romeu – Walcott, Aribo, Elyounoussi – Mara
Last matches played by Southampton:
Premier League
20/08/2022 – Leicester 1 – 2 Southampton
13/08/2022 – Southampton 2 – 2 Leeds
06/08/2022 – Tottenham 4 – 1 Southampton
Club friendlies
30/07/2022 – Southampton 1 – 2 FC Villarreal
28/07/2022 – Southampton 3 – 1 AS Monaco
Cambridge – Southampton Direct comparison / H2H record
This League Cup clash on Tuesday night represents a first, as the two sides have never met before in club history.
Cambridge – Southampton Tip
The second round of the EFL Cup is sure to bring another surprise or two on Tuesday and Wednesday. Which favourite will stumble, however, is very difficult to predict. Accordingly, we do not recommend betting on the home side in the clash between Cambridge and Southampton. The third division side’s home form (three games in 2022/23, three wins) is impressive, but the Saints will be looking to improve on their first win of 2022/23.
The morale in the Hasenhüttl eleven’s camp is absolutely satisfactory after the team showed comeback qualities in recent weeks. With every success, self-confidence can be refuelled, this would be bitterly needed after the many setbacks in the spring of 2022. Despite expected rotation, the Southampton -1.5 prediction is recommended between Cambdrige and Southampton. Besides the handicap win, HT/FT 2/2 is also a good option, as is the bet that both teams will not score. Cambridge doesn’t necessarily convince with a bearish offensive (six goals in six games).
