Mick McCarthy provides injury update after Blackpool's FA Cup defeat to Southampton

And welcome to today’s live blog!

It’s a break from league matters today as Blackpool make the long trip down to the South Coast to face Southampton in the FA Cup.

It also coincides with Mick McCarthy’s first game as Blackpool boss.

Follow our blog for build-up, team news, live match updates and post-match reaction.

Mick McCarthy’s delayed first game in charge comes on the South Coast this afternoon, as Blackpool take a quick break from league action.

The veteran boss was due to be in the dugout for last weekend’s crunch clash against Huddersfield, but that game fell foul to the frozen temperatures and had to be postponed.

Instead, the 63-year-old takes the Seasiders to St Mary’s, where they face Premier League opposition for the second round running.

Blackpool caused something of a shock in the third round when they put Nottingham Forest to the sword, emerging with a 4-1 victory at Bloomfield Road.

Today they take on a Southampton side that are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Premier League, but are performing well in cup competitions with the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle United coming up on Tuesday night.

Premier League referee Craig Pawson is the man with the whistle. The South Yorkshire official has taken charge of 21 games so far this season, dishing out 91 yellow cards but no reds.

This will be the first Blackpool game he’s refereed since the 1-1 draw against Birmingham City in 2013.

Marvin Ekpiteta misses his first game since suffering a hamstring injury in the defeat to Watford. According to Mick McCarthy, the defender is likely to remain out until the end of February.

There’s better news regarding Ian Poveda, who has trained and is back to full fitness after missing the trip to Vicarage Road with a sore groin.

Elsewhere, Jordan Gabriel, Kevin Stewart, Liam Bridcutt, Lewis Fiorini and Keshi Anderson all remain sidelined.

Charlie Goode is eligible to make his debut after making the move from Brentford.

“I won’t lie, I’ve still got my eye on the league games.

“Listen, if I get us to the cup final and win it, wouldn’t that be great? But the reality is I’ve been brought in to help keep the club in the league.

“Despite the FA Cup game, I’m still thinking about the league games we’ve got coming.

“But in terms of what we’re going to do, we want to go and win. We’re going down there to try and win the game and let’s hope we do.

“I know Nathan (Jones), he’s a great lad. He’s a very good coach.

“He was excellent at Luton and I was delighted he got the Southampton job and I know what it’s like when you’re in that bottom three in the Premier League. Wow, the pressure is on.

“But he’s had some great results in the cup and he’ll be looking for some more. But he’ll be like me, he’ll have one eye on that league position.

“He’s a really good coach. I’ve seen him develop from being at Charlton when he was their Under-23s coach and they used to come to Ipswich and then he went to Brighton and wherever else he’s been.

“I think it was a good call. They were quite clearly in trouble and the manager before him had got huge experience.

“Who knows? He might get them out of it and I hope he does, because I like him.”

“It’s a different test for us, but the principle is exactly the same,” Saints boss Nathan Jones said.

“We want an aggressive team, a team that plays on the front foot and a team that wins the game.

“It’s a slightly different test for us but a test we know well in terms of 1) the manager and 2) the team. It will be a stern, stern test.

“The pressure is on us because we’re a Premier League side and we’re at home, so it’s different pressure but it’s still pressure.

“It’s their first game with Mick because they had a game called off last week, so there’s a bit of an unknown and we don’t know what they’re going to go with.

“Mick has been very successful so I know if we take the game lightly in any kind of way we’ll get punched in the nose.”

So much at the moment is currently unknown – will it be 4-4-2 or another system? Will McCarthy favour Chris Maxwell or Dan Grimshaw? Will new signing Charlie Goode make his debut?

With so much up in the air, all eyes will be on the team sheets when they’re released at 2pm on Saturday.

With that in mind, here’s how we think the Seasiders might line-up at St Mary’s Stadium...

Mick McCarthy has decided to shake things up in his first game in charge by making five changes to his Blackpool side for today’s FA Cup tie against Southampton.

Andy Lyons, Ian Poveda and Jerry Yates all come back into the starting line-up, while debuts are handed to new recruits Charlie Goode and Tom Trybull.

Poveda returns to the fold after missing the Watford game with a tight groin.

Marvin Ekpiteta misses out with a hamstring injury that is likely to keep him sidelined until the end of February.

Jordan Thorniley, Sonny Carey, Morgan Rogers and Gary Madine also drop out.

Jordan Gabriel, Kevin Stewart, Liam Bridcutt, Lewis Fiorini and Keshi Anderson all remain sidelined.

Blackpool’s formation hasn’t been confirmed, but it looks to be a 3-5-2 or similar, matching up Southampton’s system.

As for Nathan Jones’ side, they’ve made eight changes from their midweek Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle United.

Their priority is to maintain their Premier League status while the second leg of their Carabao Cup clash takes place next week.

Southampton 2/5

Draw 18/5

Blackpool 6/1

Odds according to Fair Betting Sites.