Ward-Prowse is up for the cup
Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse has backed Saints to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup - regardless of which side Mauricio Pochettino sends out to face Yeovil.
The Southampton boss fielded a strong side in the 4-3 third-round win over Burnley but, with a Barclays Premier League game against Arsenal on Tuesday evening, there may be a chance for some of Pochettino's fringe players to show their worth in their fourth-round tie.
The Burnley victory is the only game Ward-Prowse has started since the turn of the year but the 19-year-old is likely to start at home to Sky Bet Championship strugglers Yeovil as he targets a place in the last 16.
"Playing Yeovil is a winnable game and after this we will be looking at the tasty end of the competition, so we will be looking to win this for sure," he said.
"The mentality of the club and the manager is that we want to win every game, whether it is Yeovil in the cup, or Manchester United.
"The Arsenal game comes into consideration but we have just come off a busy Christmas period and we showed we could deal with that really well - the depth of the squad and the quality we have got, I don't think any team that is put out will be weakened."
With Ward-Prowse one of a number of players looking to force their way into Pochettino's Premier League side, the England Under-21 international knows a good performance against the Glovers is the best way to get noticed.
He continued: "Within English football we know the love of the FA Cup and I'm sure a lot of the players will be wanting to go out and make a statement to get through to the next round.
"I love playing in the FA Cup and it is a good chance to show everyone what you can do - it is always a competition that has been close to my heart."
Saints' assistant manager Jesus Perez has said the club will approach the game as if it were a league fixture and that Yeovil will not be underestimated.
"We are fully aware of them [Yeovil]," he said. "We did the same scouting on them as we do for a Premier League game.
"We know they won their last game and they are near the bottom of the table, but in the FA Cup the pressure is off and the players are a little bit different, so we have to face the game with full respect and full focus from the first minute to try to win it.
"Our target before the game is to talk more about us than our opponent in this situation and the players are aware that if we don't play with full focus then you will face problems during the game.
"You have to try to play in the same style as normal, keep the ball, play attacking and nice football so that you can forget about anything else.
"When the players have to think too much they lose focus, so it's important that we look forward and play well to win the game and get into the next round."
Dejan Lovren and Gaston Ramirez are both missing after suffering similar ankle ligament injuries while the game will come too soon for midfielder Victor Wanyama.
Striker Dani Osvaldo will also be missing after he was banned by the club for two weeks following a training-ground altercation with a team-mate.
Yeovil will be able to field loan signing Ishmael Miller. The powerful striker arrived from Nottingham Forest on Thursday until the end of the season and has been given the green light to feature by his parent club.
There will be a change at left-back for the away day after Zoumana Bakayogo returned to Leicester having damaged his cruciate ligament on his debut at Birmingham. With Liam Davis sidelined due to a broken toe, Jamie McAllister or Luke Ayling look set to step in.
Ed Upson is clear of his ankle problem and came through an appearance in a friendly against Plymouth unscathed and he is pushing for a start but Matteo Lanzoni is cup tied.
Source: PA
