Yeovil Town are counting down the hours to their next fixture as FA Cup fever hits Huish Park.
The Glovers make the short journey to face Premier League Southampton on Saturday with a strong contingent of fans following them on the hunt for a cup upset.
Spirits are high at Yeovil and despite an increasing injury list the ranks have actually received a boost ahead of the game.
Nottingham Forest striker Ishmael Miller has returned for a second loan spell and has been granted permission to play in the cup by Manager, Billy Davies.
Miller has already spent a short spell with the Glovers scoring against Charlton, Watford and Huddersfield.
However, the physio room at Huish Park has been somewhat busier of late especially with left sided defenders.
Firstly, Liam Davis is set for a further few weeks out with injury and natural replacement, Skipper Jamie McCallister has also been struggling with a rib problem.
Manager Gary Johnson thought he had fixed the issue with a short term loan in the shape of Leicester City full back Zoumana Bakayogo.
Unfortunately, he suffered a ligament injury on debut and returned the midlands club for treatment.
Matteo Lanzoni was the man to fill the final defensive position in the weekend win over Birmingham, but he too will be in the stands this week due to being cup tied.
That leaves Johnson with limited options, but the likes of Luke Ayling, Joe Edwards and even Joe Ralls have all played left back in their careers.
At the other end of the pitch and a couple players have found their scoring boots.
James Hayter scored both for Yeovil in the 2-0 win last time out and Sam Foley netting twice in a midweek friendly.
This is all in addition to Keiffer Moore’s first 90minutes in a Yeovil shirt and Ishmael Miller’s return.
Southampton have some well documented issues on and off the field going into the game; Chairman Nicola Cortese resigned which led to speculation over Manager, Maurico Pochettino’s future.
Added to that, star striker Dani Osvaldo has been suspended by the club following an internal issue.
By the time we add ankle injuries to both Gaston Rameriez and Dejan Loveren, that cup upset dream inches ever closer.
You could be forgiven for thinking that high flying Southampton and little old Yeovil wouldn’t have crossed paths all that much but you’d be wrong.
During the Saints’ stint in League One the sides met on a number of times and not once did the Glovers come out on top.
The results included a particularly damning 3-0 defeat at St Mary’s.
The hosts had a front four of. Lee Barnard, Rickie Lambert, Adam Llalana and Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain. Not a bad selection.
It’s not all bad news though, in 2011 the sides drew 2-2 in a pre-season friendly. Andy Williams and Paul Wotton doing the scoring for the Glovers.
Wotton is one of many players to have crossed the divide between the two sides, much like current Yeovil attacker Sam Hoskins.
Sadly, it looks like Hoskins will not have the chance to face his former employer, he’s still recovering from injury.
Over 3100 Glovers fans are going to be packing out the away end and no doubt thousands others will be tuned in to Glovers Player to make sure they don’t miss a moment of the action.
With a place in the 5th round of the cup at stake, you can be sure that the social networks will be a buzz with all the pre and post match reaction too.
With the large number of Glovers fans travelling to the game, please allow extra time to get to the ground.
The draw for the next round of the cup will be made on Sunday afternoon at around 5.30pm.
Famous fans.
Coldplay drummer Will Champion and singer Craig David.
A Foot In both camps.
Sam Hoskins, Dan Seaborne, Paul Wotton, Arron Davis, Leon Best, Adrian Caceres, Martin Cranie, Paul Tisdale and Leroy Whale.
