So far in the FA Cup this season Ralph Hasenhuttl has changed his team and played a virtual reserve side, however now things are getting serious and Southampton fans will accept nothing less than our best side giving it's all.

In the hour before kick off in the last round Saints fans were not very happy with Ralph Hasenhuttl after reading the team he had selected to take on West Ham United, that all ended well, but Manchester City are a different proposition.

To put it bluntly this is our last chance at glory this season, 3 straight defeats have seen us hold 10th place in the Premier League, but the chance of qualifying for Europe is surely gone with Tottenham Hotspur currently sitting in 10th place a full 13 points ahead of us with a game in hand.

That means in the Premier League all Saints have to play for is 10th place, yes that will be a landmark moment for Ralph Hasenhuttl who has battled through some difficult times in his 3 years or so in charge at St Mary's, but ask any Saints fan and they would trade a top 10 finish for an FA Cup semi final or dare say it the Final in May.

Manchester City are the best team in England at the moment, perhaps Europe, yes Liverpool are open and attacking, but City are far more clinical, they pas and pass and pass and don't shoot till they see the whites of the keepers eyes.

You cannot afford to let them have any advantage, you have to dig in and fight from the first to the final whistle and given the strength of their squad, you cannot afford any passengers.

In the previous rounds there was an excuse for the multiple changes in the Saints team, the games were sandwiched between Premier League games and we still has something to play for, be it making sure we pulled clear of relegation back in January or the slim chance of a top 7 finish when we played West Ham.

But there are no such excuses this weekend, when City trot out at St Mary's it will be a full week since we played our last game and our next game isn't for another 13 days when we travel to Leeds United.

Saints supporters are realists, they know we start this game as underdogs, indeed that is the status of every team that City will play in the remainder of the season, this being the case we ask one thing of our manager for this game and that is play your best side !

Surely that is not too much to ask, football these days is very polarised, there are the have & the have not's, so when we get a chance for some glory we should take every advantage we have.

I have always been in the Ralph Hasenhuttl camp, I have always appreciated the constraints he has had to work under and in becoming the longest serving Saints manager since Chris Nicholl some 31 years ago he has brought some stability to the club.

But he faces enough challenges in winning football games without making it harder for himself by mixing and matching his squad.

In the last round he spoke of giving fringe players a game, I could understand that to a degree, but if he wants to do that now, he can use the Premier League to blood a few youngsters, there is little to play for there, but everything in this game.

So the message from Southampton supporters to Ralph Hasenhuttl is clear, play your best team and make sure that when the final whistle goes, whatever the result we know that we have given it our best shot and left nothing on the pitch.

Photo: Action Images

SaintPaulVW added 10:04 - Mar 17 Didn't we say the same before West Ham? Several 'A team' players have looked out of sorts recently. Got to trust Ralph to make the call. Managers get little credit in hindsight when it goes right but no one let's them forget it when it goes wrong. COYR
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beynali73 added 10:41 - Mar 17 Well said Nick. As you say most of us are realistic about our club and are not expecting much from the the wekend other than for the players to show a decent account of themselves. I'd swap two league wins for a cup win as I'm still nervous about the league position (I'll admit I'm a glass half full when it comes to Saints) so anything from this weekend will be a mixed blessing - especially if we sneak a win and the players then 'save' themsleves for the SF. COYR's

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Block8 added 10:46 - Mar 17 Indeed we do Nick but what is our best team & formation for City? Think we would all have slightly different ideas. City like Liverpool and most of the better teams ( not Spurs obviously) play on the front foot. So there will be space behind their full backs. in which case three at the back would be sensible. In this scenario Tino & KWP start, Perraud is actually the best defender of the three but maybe not quite so effective on his crossing? I would then have JWP, Romeu and Ely in the middle with Che & Broja up front. We the have Stu Armstrongs guille and Adam Armstrong & Redmonds pace as the players tire? The big question is who makes the back three, Bednarek & Salisu are shoe ins but is it Jack or Valery or even A N Other?? Ralph has already picked his team, in his head and hopefully whoever is out there will relight the spark that has been missing for a short time. Me having just caught Covid, have passed my ticket on to someone who will, hopefully, be able to join a great celebration that I can only watch on TV. COYR

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Centurion added 10:52 - Mar 17 If we had gained at least 4 points from the three games I would have agreed that we play our strongest team. I am probably of the opinion that to stand any chance against City we have to play our best team but we still have work to do in the league. I would never swap a cup win for a league win.
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wessexman added 12:51 - Mar 17 I would dearly love a trip to Wembley and see my team lift the FA cup in my lifetime. I went to the semi final in 1976 but never made the final. In 1979 I was away at sea. Cardiff in 2003 was special. I also went to the Sunderland game where Poch threw that game. I think the FA cup still means an awful to us, the older generation. RALPH, win or lose.....it has got to be the best team we have.....not a lot to ask for.

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underweststand added 09:11 - Mar 18 This game is a test for those "other players" who are (supposedly) cover for the "First XI " we regularly see in Prem. games. If they don't get a chance to play against one of the best teams (City) there is little point in having them on the bench week after week. Part of Ralph's strategy is surely planning for a possible 120 minute game PLUS eventual penalties, whilst City's bench still looks impressive, Saints' subs aren't in the same class. I'm not advocating a wholesale change of 9 players again, but if the likes of Long, Walcott and Adam A. don't get a kick - what is the point in having them any longer?. I also expect Willie C. to be in goal - especially as City rarely used him except in real emergencies - and he will still have something to prove to everyone. He will never get a longer contract, but IMHO he's certainly worth another season - as 3rd choice keeper.

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Centurion added 12:42 - Mar 18 Sounds about right 'underwestand'.
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