Southampton welcome West Ham to St Mary’s Stadium in an all Premier League clash in Fifth Round of 2021-22 FA Cup.
Victory would see Southampton reach the Quarter-Finals for the third time in last five seasons, whereas West Ham are looking to avoid another exit at this stage for the second consecutive season.
Team News
Nathan Tella again is a doubt for Southampton with manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl unwilling to risk the midfielder as he continues to recover from a groin injury.
Alex McCarthy (thigh) and Lyanco (hamstring) are still ruled out.
West Ham could welcome Andriy Yarmolenko back into contention after he missed Sunday’s win against Wolves for personal reasons.
Angelo Ogbonna, Arthur Masuaku (both knee), Ryan Fredericks (groin) and Vladimir Coufal (hernia) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Southampton have never beaten West Ham in six clashes across three previous FA Cup ties (D3, L3), with only one of the three previous ties settled on the day – West Ham won 2-1 in January 1975.
- West Ham have avoided defeat in three FA Cup visits to Southampton (W1, D2), although this is the first FA Cup tie between these two teams held at St Mary’s Stadium.
- This is the first FA Cup clash between Southampton and West Ham to be held this century.
- Southampton are unbeaten in three of their last five FA Cup ties at home against Premier League opposition (W2, D1, L2).
- West Ham are winless in their last six away FA Cup ties against Premier League opposition (D3, L3).
Prediction
Despite being taken to extra time by Swansea and Coventry in the last two rounds, Southampton seem to be a team on the up at present which was evident in their dominance against Norwich on Friday evening where they looked comfortable in every area of the pitch.
West Ham meanwhile were clinical in Sunday’s win against Wolves despite producing some poor finishing of cracking shots, although their pace and movement on the ball proved pivotal in the end after outstretching Wolves to force the winner.
This clash therefore should be very interesting because Southampton will be confident of a result given their fitness advantage and strong consistent performances, whereas West Ham are a dangerous team to play despite their recent leaky defensive issues.
I however am going for a tight home win because West Ham might view a top four finish in the Premier League as their priority, especially with Manchester United and Arsenal already out of this competition whereas Southampton can afford to just go for it here.
Prediction: Southampton 2-1 West Ham
Result: Southampton 3-1 West Ham