FA Cup Preview: Sunderland - Southampton Gus Poyet intends to give the likes of Emmanuele Giaccherini and Ignacio Scocco an opportunity on Saturday despite the extra rest afforded by a midweek postponement.

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet says that he
will rest a number of key players for
Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round clash with
Southampton.
The Black Cats' Premier League trip to
Manchester City on Wednesday was postponed
due to inclement weather, allowing Poyet's
star men an extra break ahead of the last-16
tie but, despite the unexpected rest, the
Uruguayan intends to stick to his original plan
and make several changes.
"I was looking forward to giving a few players
opportunities and that will not change," he
told The Sunderland Echo. "We have a few
players who need to play and deserve to play
but, for different reasons, they haven't been
able to.
"I'm talking about players like [Emanuele]
Giaccherini and [Ignacio] Scocco. They both
need minutes so we're going to use that game
for this but it will all be first-team players.
We will not be taking the game lightly. I hope
that we win it so we don't have to have a
replay."
Sunderland, which will be without the
suspended Wes Brown, has had a relatively
straightforward run to the fifth round, with
home victories over Carlisle United and
Kidderminster Harriers to date, and the team
has enjoyed even greater success in the
Capital One Cup, with Poyet's men due to take
on Manchester City in the final at Wembley on
March 2.
The Wearsiders remain in trouble in the
league, however, sitting 18th, albeit with a
game in hand over most of their rivals.
Southampton, on the other hand, is enjoying
a fine season and sits eighth in the Premier
League table. Mauricio Pochettino's men come
into the game on the back of an eight-match
unbeaten run in all competitions, including
wins over Championship outfits Burnley and
Yeovil Town in the third and fourth rounds of
the FA Cup.
The two sides met in the league in January,
with Sunderland coming from two goals down
to claim a 2-2 draw, and the Saints' assistant
manager, Jesus Perez, says that his side has
learned its lesson as the club looks to reach
the last eight of the competition for the first
time in nine years.
"We know Sunderland very well," he told
reporters. "This will be the fourth time we've
met them [since Pochettino took charge] but,
when you are playing a lot of competitions,
that's always a possibility.
"We are ready to face them. We have learned
from every game against them. We review and
analyze every game to determine how we have
to improve in case we have to repeat
situations."