Preview: Colchester United vs Southampton - prediction, team news, lineups

Championship side Southampton will travel to the JobServe Community Stadium for Saturday's EFL Cup tie against League Two outfit Colchester United.

The Saints last suffered a first-round defeat in the 2023-24 campaign, while the U's have fallen at this stage in four of the past six seasons.

Match preview

Colchester are set to compete in the fourth tier for the 11th consecutive season after finishing in a midtable position last term.

The U's ended the campaign in 12th spot with 66 points to their name, 27 points clear of the bottom two and 12 points away from the top seven.

Danny Cowley's side have warmed up for the new campaign with a tough pre-season schedule that has seen them play five of their eight friendlies against teams above them in the pyramid.

After starting out with a goalless draw against Norwich City, Colchester fell to a narrow defeat against West Ham United before they recorded comfortable victories over Heybridge Swifts and Harlow Town.

They then suffered defeats against Peterborough United and Charlton Athletic, either side of a draw against West Ham's Under-21 side, before they rounded off their tricky schedule with a narrow 1-0 loss against Stevenage last Saturday.

Colchester face another difficult task in their first competitive game against Southampton since 2011, with the hosts requiring an upset to avoid a repeat of last season's first-round exit to Oxford United.

Southampton are preparing to play a competitive match for the first time since they were thrown out of the 2025-26 playoffs for the Spygate scandal, which hit the headlines after a member of the club's staff was caught watching Middlesbrough in training ahead of the semi-finals.

The Saints, who admitted monitoring two other teams, missed out on a playoff final and the chance at promotion before they were handed a four-point deduction for the upcoming season.

Southampton have kept faith with manager Tonda Eckert, who is waiting to find out whether he will receive a ban after being charged by the Football Association for misconduct.

As the Saints look to move forward, they bolstered Eckert's squad with the additions of George Long and Lewis Dobbin, as well as converting Daniel Peretz and Cyle Larin's loan deals into permanent transfers.

Southampton have warmed up for the season with three wins in four games, including a 2-1 victory over German side Preuben Munster last Saturday.

They will now be aiming to avoid a surprise exit in a competition that has brought them good memories in recent times, a semi-final appearance in 2022-23 and a run to the last eight in 2024-25.

Colchester United form (all competitions):

W W L D L L

Southampton form (all competitions):

W W L W

Team News

Colchester goalkeeper Tom Smith is a doubt after suffering a burst appendix earlier this summer.

With Smith struggling to prove his fitness, Thimothee Lo-Tutala is likely to make his debut after recently arriving on loan from Hull City.

Sean Raggett, Leon Chiwome and Bradley Ihionvien could also feature after joining the club this summer.

As for the Championship side, Finn Azaz and Caspar Jander will both need to be assessed following their recent injury issues.

Tom Fellows was left out of the last two friendlies with an adductor issue, and while he should be available for the weekend, he may not be risked from the start as a precautionary measure.

Canada international Cyle Larin could be given minutes off the bench after recently returning from an extended break following his involvement in the World Cup.

Colchester United possible starting lineup:

Lo-Tutala; Hunt, Raggett, Tucker, Iandolo; Digby, Oni; Anderson, Payne, Chiwome; Ihionvien

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Peretz; Bree, Stephens, Harwood-Bellis, Welington; Bragg, Downes; Matsuki, Scienza, Brereton Diaz; Dobbin

We say: Colchester United 1-3 Southampton

Southampton will view Saturday's contest as the start of a new chapter, and with the visitors boasting a much stronger squad than their hosts, we think their extra quality will see them record a comfortable victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.