Southampton and West Ham have the chance to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup when they meet in the fifth round on Wednesday.
A 2-1 victory over Championship side Coventry City was enough to book Southampton a place in the FA Cup fifth round. They were made to work hard and taken to extra-time with Stuart Armstrong and Kyle Walker-Peters getting the goals.
That result is a pointer to Southampton’s good form in recent weeks as they are currently on a six match unbeaten run across all competitions. Ralph Hassenhuttl’s men have won their last two matches, including a 2-0 Premier League victory over Norwich City last Friday.
Southampton have been impressive at home and are unbeaten in their last 11 matches at St Mary’s. They have held Premier League champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw while a 4-1 victory over Brentford and a 2-0 win over Everton are also among their results in that run.
West Ham also needed extra-time before seeing off National League side Kidderminster Harriers in their fourth round clash. They were made to come from behind with Declan Rice grabbing an injury time equaliser before Jarrod Bowen netted the winner.
The Hammers have not been at their best lately but head into Tuesday’s clash with a 1-0 Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday. Tomas Soucek got the only goal as they ended a run of two matches without a win.
West Ham have also found things difficult on their recent travels with the result at Kidderminster their only win in the last three away matches. David Moyes’ men have lost to Manchester United in that run while they also played out a 2-2 draw at Leicester City in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
Southampton have a slight edge among the bookies with a home win priced at 8/5 by William Hill. A victory for West Ham is valued at 9/5 by BoyleSports while a draw is set at odds of 27/11 by SBK.
Recent head to head
Southampton appear to have West Ham’s number this season and are unbeaten in the two Premier League meetings. The Saints played out a 0-0 draw in the first fixture in September before claiming a 3-2 victory in December.
Players to watch
Che Adams has been the man in form for Southampton in recent weeks, scoring three goals in his last four matches. SBK is offering odds of 39/19 on the striker to get on the score sheet on Wednesday.
Jarrod Bowen has seven goals in his last 10 matches across all competitions and will be the one to watch for Southampton. The winger was also on target in the previous round and is priced at 45/17 by SBK to find the net.
Anything else catch the eye?
The last meeting between Southampton and West Ham produced over 4.5 goals and a similar outcome is priced at 6/1 with BetVictor. Over 3.5 goals is valued at 23/10 by Paddy Power while SBK is offering odds of 8/9 for over 2.5 goals.
Both teams found the net after the break in their last meeting and given their late showings in the previous round, could be backed to score in the second half at 9/4 with betfair.
This FA Cup match between Southampton and West Ham United will be played on Mar 2, 2022 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs West Ham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
