Southampton achieved a great victory at Anfield against Liverpool in the second leg of the Capital One Cup semi-finals, winning 2-0 on aggregate. Shane Long, who came in as a substitution, scored the only goal of the game in the added time of the second half. The assist was made by the youngster Joshua Sims, who crossed the whole pitch to pass the ball to the Irish striker.

It looked like Liverpool will win the match, as The Reds have an average possession of the ball about 70%. The Merseysiders also created some good goal-scoring chances, while The Saints missed two clear chances during the first half. The best chance for Liverpool came in the 53rd minute, when the Saints’ goalkeeper Forster made a silly mistake, but he managed to clear the ball from the line, keeping his sheet clean. 5 minutes later, Daniel Sturridge was unmarked in the box, but his shot went high above the woodwork. In the end, Southampton organized very fast counter-attack and put the ball into the Liverpool’s net, qualifying for the final.

The last time Southampton took part in a cup final was in 2003 when The Saints lost the FA Cup final to Arsenal 1-0. However, they have never won the League Cup, as the only time Southampton reached the final was in 1979, when they lost to Nottingham Forest.

Tonight, Southampton will find out who will meet in the final. Surely, the second finalist will be Manchester United, as The Red Devils have an advantage of 2-0 after the first match against Hull City. The Saints will be hoping to play against The Tigers, because The Red Devils have always been among the toughest opponents for Southampton. Manchester United have won 62 matches against The Saints, while there have been 29 draws and 28 victories for Southampton.

Tonight, we will become spectators of the replays of the 3rd round in The FA Cup. 6 games today and 3 more tomorrow. So, here is the list of the matches with a short preview and a prediction:

Burnley vs. Sunderland

Sunderland were smashed by Burnley at Turf Moor earlier this season. I think something very similar will happen! Even though The Black Cats kept a clean sheet in the first match between these two teams of The FA Cup, they have recently been very weak in defence. On the other hand, Burnley have won 8 of their 12 home matches in The Premier League. So, you can give it a try on Burnley’s victory against Sunderland.

AFC Wimbledon vs. Sutton United

The team, which is in the lowest position of the remaining teams in the FA Cup – Sutton United shocked everyone, making it to the replays of the 3rd round of the tournament! They finished with a 0-0 draw at home against Wimbledon. The League 1 side will probably win the game, but we must admit the 5th-tier club that they achieved a great thing in the tournament so far!

Crystal Palace vs. Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers are good in defence, but I don’t think The Trotters can surprise Sam Allardyce! Crystal Palace will surely have no problems winning the game. The finalist of the previous edition of the cup struggled to score at The Macron Stadium. However, they can fix this in the replay.

Lincoln City vs. Ipswich Town

The 5th-tier club Lincoln City achieved a 2-2 draw against Ipswich away from home about a week ago. However, now The Imps will be the hosts, and when they are playing at home – they have only recorded 2 defeats this campaign! The Imps have won 3 games, while there have been 3 draws and 5 victories for The Tractor Boys. I expect that this will be the surprise of the 3rd round, as Lincoln will find a place in the 4th round!

Newcastle United vs. Birmingham City

The Magpies are way more classy than Birmingham! They are topping the table in The Championship, while The Blues are lying in 12th place. In addition, Newcastle United have won more than 50% of their home games against Birmingham. Moreover, the last match between these two teams at St. James’ Park finished with a 4-0 victory for The Magpies! The first FA cup match between these two teams ended with a 1-1 draw 10 days ago, but this time Newcastle will take the victory!

Plymouth Argyle vs. Liverpool

Liverpool won’t make a second mistake against 4th-tier Plymouth Argyle! The Green Army achieved an amazing result at Anfield (0-0), and proved they are a good team, but this time Jurgen Klopp knows what to expect from them and will surely rely on his first-choice starting line-up. It’s interesting that Plymouth have won twice against The Reds! There have also been 4 draws and 5 wins for Liverpool.

Barnsley vs. Blackpool 1X

Fleetwood Town vs. Bristol City 1

Southampton vs. Norwich City 1

The Red Devils have almost reached the final in The Capital One Cup, after they beat Hull City 2-0 at Old Trafford. Manchester United have finally brought back their familiar face and they can’t now stop winning matches!

After 9 consecutive victories in all competitions, the Jose Mourinho’s players look strong enough to fight for all the trophies they are competing for. Actually, they are not so far away from the first place in The Premier League, even though they are lying in 6th position in the standings. The difference between The Red Devils and Chelsea is 10 points, which is not impossible to be melted!

However, Manchester United recorded another good victory, after bagging two goals in the Tigers’ net. The Red Devils created lots of goal-scoring chances, but they managed to open the score in the 56th minute, when Juan Mata found the net. Then, a few minutes before the final whistle Marouane Fellaini doubled the score, securing the victory for Man United.

The last time The Red Devils won The Capital One Cup was in 2010, when they beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the final match. Manchester United have won this competition on 4 occasions, as they have only lost the final 4 times. So, if they reach the final it is not sure they will lift the trophy. In the previous campaign, Manchester United were eliminated in the 4th round of the cup – losing to Middlesbrough after penalty shootouts.

The second semi-final match between Manchester United and Hull City will be held on 26th January, but The Red Devils currently look too strong for The Tigers and they will surely have no difficulties in finding a place in the final. However, the other semi-final between Liverpool and Southampton seems to be more unpredictable and Manchester United were quite lucky to be drawn against The Tigers.

Sunderland put on a display a wonderful performance against Liverpool. The match at The Stadium of Light finished with a 2-2 draw after a lot of drama in the end of it. However, The Black Cats kept on showing lots of weaknesses in defence, as they allowed their opponent to create a lot of goal-scoring opportunities. The goalkeeper Mannone must be proud of his performance after saving several difficult shots towards his goal.

To begin with, Liverpool opened the score in the 19th minute after a corner kick. Daniel Sturridge put the ball into the net with his head after Lovren’s assist. Then, The Black Cats organized several good attacks and they were awarded with a penalty, which was converted into a goal by Jermaine Defoe in the 25th minute of the game.

Sadio Mane managed to score again for The Reds after the break. He took advantage of the poor marking by the Sunderland defenders and put the ball into the net from about 3 metres. However, just 12 minutes later Mane blocked the ball with his hand in the box and gave Defoe the chance to score again from the spot. The Englishman scored his 11th goal of the season to get Sunderland back on level terms.

At both ends, the season for Sunderland so far looks exactly the same as the previous one! In comparison, The Black Cats had 15 points after the first 20 matches in the last campaign, the same number as their record this season! Their first victory of the campaign in the league was approximately at the same period, as in the last season. Do you remember what happened in the end of the 2015/16 season? Sunderland avoided relegation! The task will be difficult again, but there are no easy matches in The Premiership! You can give it a try, betting on it, because the traditions matter in England! Sunderland NOT to relegate – 2.75!