Our regular contributor Dan gives his opinions on Saints chances of winning the League Cup this season.

On Wednesday evening, Southampton take on Sunderland at St. Mary’s in the Round of 16 stage of the EFL Cup (the refurbished League Cup). But how good a chance do Southampton have of at least doing well in the competition but winning the trophy itself?

I think we have the best chance that we’ll ever have. Playing at Wembley is a real possibility, but with every good cup run, luck is needed, something that Saints haven’t had in the last few seasons.

So why do we have such a good chance? Well, with our fantastic home form we should be able to beat a struggling Sunderland on Wednesday. Then we advance to the quarter final; this is when it gets exciting.

Besides Southampton vs Sunderland there are two fixtures where two Championship teams play each other (Leeds vs Norwich and Newcastle vs Preston) meaning that two Championship sides are guaranteed to play in the quarter final.

If Southampton do advance in the competition, then there will be a 29% chance that we will play a Championship side, that is if Reading don’t beat Arsenal and Bristol City don’t beat Hull. However, with Hull struggling in the Premier League and Bristol City doing well in the Championship, there could be a small upset on the cards.

Saints will want a Championship side in the quarter-final because it’s seen as the easier way to advance to the Semi-Final rather than being drawn with a fellow Premier League side.

However, the draw for the Round of 16 is also kind to Southampton in the fact that there are several of the favourites for the competition playing against each other, meaning that some of the big dogs won’t advance. Manchester United vs Manchester City is a perfect example; both will be one of the favourites for the trophy but one will be knocked out early. Liverpool vs Tottenham is another example and quite possibly West Ham vs Chelsea.

If Wednesday goes our way (which it should) then, with a bit of luck in the draw, I don’t see why Southampton can’t go all the way in the competition this year.

Photo: Action Images

IWOZTHERE added 15:39 - Oct 24 We're long overdue some tangible success but we all know the squad is being stretched by injuries and the number of games played. VVD and OR in particular need a break and I'd expect Claude to rest one or both of them this week.Fingers crossed we'll get past Sunderland and perhaps Gardos and the other lads will soon be back in the reckoning.
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SanMarco added 17:02 - Oct 24 " luck is needed, something that Saints haven’t had in the last few seasons." I thought away at third division Sheff Utd was ok a couple of years ago. It is not bad luck - we just seem to play badly in the quarter-final of this tournament.
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halftimeorange added 19:11 - Oct 24 It depends on what Puel or his masters want. If they think we are going to be secure in the Premier league and will qualify from the Europa league they might have a go at Sunderland however, apart from Hull, there is no immediate opportunity to rest key players, due to the strength of the impending opposition. I'll be surprised if we don't see a fair few changes on Wednesday.

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Consigliere added 20:54 - Oct 24 I was at that infamous Sheffield game San Marco, and I agree with you I'm keeping my powder very dry indeed until after Wednesday!
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Cjay80 added 22:38 - Oct 24 Sunderland to rest lots of first team players on Wednesday and I expect us to do the same. Who will win? Toss a coin.
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SonicBoom added 09:45 - Oct 25 Wednesday is no certainty. We will rest players no doubt about it so it will be about who has the better second string.
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davepid added 10:55 - Oct 25 I too was at Bramall Lane and totally agree with the other posts about that fixture.i was also at Sunderland in the FA cup 2/3 yrs ago when again that was considered a n certain win for us. Let's not start planning easy ne t round games until we've overcome the match ahead of us, especially when we are struggling e to score goals .
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