You can’t beat a good draw!

I’m sure most fans will be watching BBC2 at 7.00 tonight, when we will find out our FA Cup third-round opponents.

It’s fitting that the draw will take place at The Deep, in Hull.

There will the big fish from the Premier League and the minnows from the lower reaches of the Football League and below.

And Hull City, of course, reached last season’s final.

It was a memorable game as they went two up against Arsenal, only to end up on the losing side.

Try telling Arsene Wenger that the FA Cup isn’t important, as some pundits would have you believe.

It’s still a brilliant competition, and the third round is probably the best.

We’ve all seen the footage of Hereford beating Newcastle back in 1972, and that tie sums up what the competition is all about.

Upsets do happen, and we could either be trying to cause or avoid one on the first weekend of the New Year.

It all depends on the draw.

We went to Grimsby Town in last season’s third round and had to tough it out for a 3-2 win on a tricky pitch.

That cup trip to Arsenal in 2011 remains fresh in the memory as do the matches at Chelsea before that.

Mind you, going by recent seasons, we’ll probably draw Charlton Athletic!

It might be ‘not you again’ for both sets of supporters, but it would be interesting for Chris Powell to have the boot on the other foot after the last two seasons.

The gaffer got all the way to the quarter-finals with Charlton last season, beating my old club Sheffield Wednesday on the way before Sheffield United put paid to his hopes at Bramall Lane.

A good run this time around would be fantastic, not just for the manager and players but also the supporters and the club coffers.

This is also a big week for our Juniors, who take on Crystal Palace at the stadium on Wednesday in the third round of the FA Youth Cup.

We made it all the way to the quarter-finals last season, giving Fulham a good game at Craven Cottage before going down 2-1 to a team who went on to reach the final, losing over two legs to Chelsea.

My old teammate Tony Carss is doing a great job with the Under 18s, and his side have already had a 4-4 draw with Palace this season.

It should be an interesting night under the lights!

St Mary's showdown will tell us plenty about Saints

I’ve had my say on Southampton as well as Manchester United in recent columns, and it will be interesting to watch them go toe to toe at St Mary’s tonight.

As well as a meeting of Dutch managers, and possibly national team coaches past and future, it’s a clash of the side many can’t believe aren’t in the Champions League and the one many can’t believe can get in it.

United have hit better form after a stuttering start to the season under Louis van Gaal and go for a fifth straight win on the south coast after beating Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Hull and Stoke.

Southampton defied the critics with a flying start and got their fans talking of a possible top-four finish. But they’ve hit a sticky patch and have lost to Manchester City and Arsenal in their last two after picking up eight wins out of 11 to go second.

Ronald Koeman, left, faces a real test of his management skills, and Saints have a tough set of forthcoming fixtures.

In the six games after tonight, their opponents will include Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal again and Manchester United again.

Saints’ defensive record doesn’t look quite so solid after conceding three at home to City.

But their defeat at Arsenal hinged on them being reduced to 10 men through injury, having used all their substitutes by the time Toby Alderweireld did his hamstring.

Their hopes of a draw at the Emirates disappeared along with their Belgian defender.