Saints won 1-0 at Fulham to reach the last eight
Arsenal were 2-1 winners at Mansfield in the last round
Recommended bet: Southampton +1.5 Handicap
Arsenal return from the international break with a tricky trip to the Championship's most in-form side, Southampton, in round six of the FA Cup.
Tonda Eckert's Saints are unbeaten in 14 matches, including a 1-0 win at another Premier League club, Fulham, in the last round.
The Gunners blew their first chance to win a trophy two weeks ago when they were well beaten by Manchester City in the League Cup final, so will be desperate to avoid an upset on the south coast.
Team news
Oriol Romeu, the former Barcelona midfielder, could be in contention for a start with Flynn Downes suspended.
Kuryu Matsuki is also banned while centre-back Jack Stephens and midfielder Leo Scienza are doubts.
Arsenal have ruled out Eberechi Eze for a few weeks and it seems unlikely Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke will be involved.
There are also question marks over a string of other stars including Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magalhaes which should ensure starts for the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman.
The latest Southampton vs Arsenal odds are available on LiveScore Bet
The stats
Southampton are unbeaten in 14 matches, including a 1-0 win at another Premier League side, Fulham, in the previous round.
Arsenal are unbeaten in 14 away games dating back to a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa on December 6.
Arsenal have progressed from 45 of their last 48 FA Cup ties against teams from outside of the top flight.
The latest Southampton vs Arsenal odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
Any quad aspirations Arsenal may have had have been ended by Manchester City, which places a lot more emphasis on this showdown on the south coast against Southampton.
Granted, there is a Premier League title to be won and on Wednesday the Gunners are off to Sporting Lisbon for the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final, which Mikel Arteta has to throw the kitchen sink at.
But they did not win the League Cup before the international break and will not want to be dumped out of the FA Cup straight after it.
So all eyes on the Arsenal team-sheet then which, presumably, will not be as strong as usual and that has to be music to Southampton ears as it gives them a decent chance of avoiding a battering.
Mansfield, lest we forget, ran a mix-and-match Gunners close in the last round, the League One side going down 2-1 at home.
That is one of two one-goal wins in Arsenal's last six away-days with another three of that sextet ending in draws, at Brentford, Wolves and Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal are not struggling but neither have they been blowing away the opposition and that is fairly understandable at this stage of a long and tiring campaign.
Saints are unbeaten in 14, at a level down of course, and they have their own huge game on the horizon, with a trip to promotion rivals Wrexham on Tuesday.
But this is a career opportunity for Eckert and many of his exciting young side and there is every reason to think they can test Arsenal. Taking Southampton to cover a 1.5-goal handicap looks the play.
Back Southampton +1.5 Handicap vs Arsenal @ 19/20 with LiveScore Bet
