Nottingham Forest and Southampton meet in the Championship on Saturday needing the three points for differing reasons.
Adkins' Saints have suffered a slight blip in form since Christmas but are expected to ease past a Reds side currently in the bottom three.
He told the official Southampton website however: "They have a strong squad of players.
"They went to Ipswich last week and scored three so I'm sure their confidence will be boosted by that."