Southampton kick off their 2025-26 EFL Cup campaign when they visit the Sixfields Stadium to face Northampton in the opening round on Tuesday. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since November 2009, when the Saints picked up a thrilling 3-2 victory in the FA Cup second round.
Football Whisper’s Northampton vs Southampton prediction examines the chances of both sides coming away with the desired result and progressing to the next round.
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Northampton vs Southampton: Goal galore at the Sixfields Stadium
Key stats
- There have been at least three goals scored in five of Northampton’s last seven games, with a combined 17 goals scored across the seven matches.
- Southampton have gone eight of their most recent nine matches without keeping a clean sheet, with a 1-0 friendly victory over Valenciennes on July 18 being the exception.
- Northampton have failed to win six of their last seven competitive home games, losing three and claiming three draws since April 26.
- Southampton are on a run of six consecutive competitive away matches without a win (5L, 1D) since February’s 2-1 victory at Ipswich Town.
Correct score prediction: Northampton 1-3 Southampton
Meetings between Northampton and Southampton have often served up fireworks in the past and we anticipate another action-packed contest on Tuesday. The Saints boast a superior and more experienced squad on paper and we fancy them to see off the hosts who, have stumbled into the new campaign.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Southampton heavily backed by bookies
- HOME: 5/1 (6.00) – 16.7%
- DRAW: 16/5 (4.20) – 23.8%
- AWAY: 1/2 (1.50) – 66.7%
*Odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
According to the bookmakers, Southampton are most likely to get the job done at the Sixfields Stadium, highlighted by their 66.7% win probability.
On the other hand, Northampton have a 16.7% chance of winning Tuesday’s clash in normal time, while there is a 23.8% possibility of the game ending all square by the full-time whistle.
Northampton were denied their first win of the new League One campaign at the weekend, when they were held to a goalless draw by Bradford on home turf.
Southampton, on the other hand, marked their return to the Championship on a high as they secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over first-timers Wrexham on home turf.
While we take a deeper look into both teams, you can peek at some of the best EFL Cup picks and predictions from today’s free football betting tips by Football Whispers.
Most recent H2Hs: Southampton leading the way
Southampton head into Tuesday’s crunch tie unbeaten in each of their most recent six matches against Northampton (5W, 1D).
Their last encounter came all the way back in November 2009, when Papa Waigo N'Diaye, Adam Lallana and Dean Hammond hit the target to hand the Saints a 3-2 victory.
Northampton Preview: First-round woes
Northampton were guilty of a lack of cutting edge in attack on Saturday when they played out a goalless draw with Bradford in their League One clash.
Clear-cut chances were at a premium at the Sixfields Stadium as the hosts managed just one shot on target, compared to Bradford’s two, with a draw being a fair result upon reflection.
Prior to that, Northampton failed to win five of their six pre-season matches (3L, 2D) before kicking off the 2025-26 League One campaign with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Wigan.
Northampton have failed to progress past the first round of the EFL Cup in the last three seasons, stretching back to the 2021-22 campaign, when they beat Coventry City 2-1 in the cup curtain-raiser.
However, the Cobblers’ cup campaign was short-lived as they crashed out in the second round, following a 1-0 defeat at the hands of AFC Wimbledon on home turf.
Predicted lineup: Burge (GK), Burroughs, Dyche, Forbes, List, Campbell, Fornah, McCarthy; McGeehan, Wheatley & Hoskins
England League 1 03/05/25
D
Wigan
1
Northampton
1
England League 1 26/04/25
L
Crawley Town
3
Northampton
0
England League 1 21/04/25
W
Shrewsbury
1
Northampton
4
England League 1 18/04/25
L
Charlton
2
Northampton
1
England League 1 12/04/25
D
Reading
0
Northampton
0
Southampton preview: Return to the drawing board
The goal for Southampton this season will be to quickly put their horror 2024-25 campaign behind them and push for an immediate return to the Premier League.
Will Still’s men managed just two wins from their 38 league matches last term while losing 30 and claiming three draws to finish with just 12 points.
Southampton picked up a dream start to the new Championship season on Saturday when they fought back from behind to snatch a 2-1 victory over Wrexham at the St Mary’s Stadium.
Josh Windass converted his 22nd-minute penalty to hand Wrexham a first-half lead, but Ryan Manning and Jack Stephens both hit the target in stoppage time to turn the game on its head.
Southampton brushed aside Cardiff, Everton and Stoke to reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup last season before suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool.
Predicted lineup: Bazunu (GK), Stephens, Edwards, Sugawara, Quarshie, Downes, Charles, Welington, Fraser, Robinson & Armstrong
England Premier League 10/05/25
D
Man City
0
Southampton
0
England Premier League 03/05/25
L
Leicester
2
Southampton
0
England Premier League 26/04/25
L
Fulham
2
Southampton
1
England Premier League 19/04/25
D
West Ham
1
Southampton
1
England Premier League 12/04/25
L
Aston Villa
3
Southampton
0
Players to watch – Damion Downs
Following an eye-catching cameo in the Championship opener against Wrexham, new signing Damion Downs could be rewarded with a starting role on Tuesday.
Making his Southampton debut, Downs made an immediate impact at the St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday as he set up Jack Stephens’s 96th-minute strike to hand the Saints a dramatic comeback win.
The American international recently completed a move from German second-tier side Koln after hitting double-digit goals (10) to go with three assists in 21 starts last season.
Damion has already opened his account for Southampton, scoring a 91st-minute consolation in the 2-1 friendly defeat against Espanyol in July, and the 21-year-old will be looking to secure his first competitive goal for Still’s men.