League Cup finalists Southampton entertain 12-times FA Cup winners Arsenal this evening (5.30pm kick-off) in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Claude Puel’s side reached their first major final since 2003 with a 2-0 aggregate victory over Liverpool in the semi-finals – Shane Long’s goal at Anfield proving enough to see off Jurgen Klopp’s lethargic Reds after Nathan Redmond gave them the lead in the first leg.

It means that the Saints will participate in their first League Cup final since 1979, but they have key games before their final against Manchester United on February 26 to contend with.

One of those clashes is against Arsenal tonight, with Arsene Wenger’s men arriving at St Mary’s unbeaten in 2017, and back up to second in the Premier League after beating Burnley 2-1 last weekend.

Nonetheless, these two sides have already met in cup competition this season, with Puel’s men winning 2-0 at the Emirates in the League Cup quarter-final, yet Wenger’s men did emerge victorious from their Premier League meeting in September.

In what should be a fascinating encounter on the South Coast, here are THREE reasons why Southampton will book their place in the last 16 of the FA Cup…

They will be buzzing

Southampton deservedly beat Liverpool 1-0 on Wednesday night to advance to their first major final since 2003, which means that the whole club will be on a massive high going into tonight’s clash.

Puel’s men went into the game ahead in the tie thanks to Nathan Redmond’s goal in the first leg, and they produced a similarly excellent display to see off Jurgen Klopp’s men and book a place in the League Cup final against Manchester United on February 26.

They were outstanding throughout, be it Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens at the heart of the defence, Oriol Romeu controlling the midfield, or Redmond and Jay Rodriguez causing the Liverpool backline all sorts of problems, which means that confidence will be sky high in the camp when they return to St Mary’s.

The atmosphere will be fantastic and the players will surely respond to that, which means that Arsenal will be in for a testing evening.

Already beaten the Gunners this season

En route to the League Cup final, Puel’s men went to the Emirates and outplayed Wenger’s side to win 2-0 on the night.

And they’ll certainly take vast amounts of confidence from that victory when, although Arsenal were understrength on that day, the Saints produced a performance which would have challenged a full-strength Gunners side.

The other meeting between the two sides this season saw a last-gasp Santi Cazorla penalty secure a 2-1 victory for Wenger’s men in a game that Southampton more than matched their opponents, and deserved the point.

Nonetheless, back at home, having secured a memorable win in midweek, and having won the last meeting between the two sides, Puel’s men will be hugely confident of knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup this evening.

Coming back into form

Southampton suffered three defeats in six days over the Christmas period to derail their challenge on the European spots, and when they failed to beat Norwich in the cup and then lost at Burnley, Puel was under pressure to stop the rot.

And that’s exactly what they’ve done in the last few weeks.

The first leg win over Liverpool was followed by back-to-back victories over Norwich in an FA Cup replay and then Leicester in the Premier League, before their memorable night at Anfield on Wednesday.

It means that the Saints have won four of their last five matches, and that time have only conceded a Joey Barton free-kick in the loss at Burnley.

They are playing themselves back into form at exactly the right time, and they’ll fancy their chances of knocking the 12-times winners out of the competition this evening.