FA Youth Cup Preview: West Ham vs Saints

THE MATCH
West Ham United vs Saints
FA Youth Cup third round
Rush Green
Friday 8th December, 19:00 GMT
For ticket and streaming details see below

Saints face a rematch of last season's semi-final when they were knocked out by the Hammers at the London Stadium at the penultimate stage of the competition.

The memorable cup run was the furthest for 17 years since Saints last reached the semi-finals in the 2005/06 season.

They knocked out Coventry City, Aston Villa, Fulham, and Preston North End on their route to the final four, with Dom Ballard scoring seven times along the way.

Ballard was Saints' top scorer in last season's impressive run.

This season the new-look Under-18s side, led by Calum McFarlane, will travel to the capital to face West Ham with both sides looking to start another set of positive cup performances.

The young Hammers are the current FA Youth Cup holders as they won the competition for the fourth time in their history in dominant fashion, capping off a league and cup double campaign for their age group.

After beating Sheffield United, Burnley, Stoke, Ipswich, and Saints, they stormed their way to the trophy by beating Arsenal 5-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

The winners of Friday's tie will host either Watford or Manchester City in the fourth round in January.

PREVIOUS MEETING

The two sides have already met this season in the league, playing out a 2-2 draw at Staplewood in October.

Saints fell behind but took the lead before half time thanks to a brace from Nick Oyekunle, before West Ham's Jemiah Umolu equalised shortly after the hour mark.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are available through West Ham United's website with supporters requiring a West Ham Account. Tickets are priced as follows:

Adults: £3
Under 18s: £1

Buy tickets

LIVE STREAM

The hosts will be streaming the fixture for free on their website and the club's YouTube channel, with coverage beginning shortly before the 7pm kick-off.