Two changes – West Ham confirmed XI v Southampton
West Ham United travel to St. Mary’s Stadium tonight to take on Southampton in the FA Cup with a place in the sixth round at stake.
The Saints are coming off the back of a comfortable 2-0 win against Norwich City on Friday night while the Irons scraped past Wolves at the London Stadium on Sunday.
The Hammers are 10 points clear of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side in the Premier League but that means nothing when it comes to the FA Cup and it will be all even when the referee blows his whistle to start the game.
David Moyes has made two changes to the side that beat Wolves on Sunday with loanee Alphonse Areola replacing Lukasz Fabianski in goal and Issa Diop coming in for left-back Aaron Cresswell.
Trophy chance
The FA Cup might not be as glamorous to some anymore but there is very good reason for West Ham to try their very hardest to win it this year.
They are already in a very good position in the league and likely to qualify for Europe regardless of what happens from here until the end of the season.
So as they are not at threat of relegation whatsoever, why not try and make the most magical memory for supporters by going to Wembley and lifting the FA Cup for the first time since the 1979-80 season.
They don’t even have to stop at the domestic trophy for success because they have just as good a chance as anyone at going all the way in the Europa League too.
Moyes would surely go down as a proper club legend if he could deliver both the FA Cup and Europa League in the same season.
In other West Ham news, major sanctions put in place today could scupper West Ham’s ability to pay a multi-million-pound transfer fee.
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