David Moyes’ West Ham head to Edgeley Park on Monday to play Stockport County in the FA Cup third round. Stockport County are in the National League and will aim for a giant-killing against the Premier League Hammers.
Stockport County are unbeaten in their last three matches in all competitions. The club play in the fifth tier of English football and are well down the football pyramid looking up at West Ham. Manager Jim Gannon’s team sit in the National League playoff places currently.
The Hatters are in fourth place and will hope their match in the FA Cup third round doesn’t distract them from the ultimate goal of achieving promotion to the football league.
While West Ham are just entering the FA Cup at this stage, Stockport County went through qualification with wins versus Chesterfield, Rochdale, and Yeovil Town. They now face off with a West Ham side who sit midtable in the Premier League.
The Hammers are unbeaten in three straight league matches going into the game this weekend. Their most recent fixture against Everton ahead of the FA Cup finished 1-0 in their favour. Moyes has a solid team and the Scotsman will fancy a long run in the FA Cup.
West Ham average 1.4 goals per game in the league. Defensively, they concede an average of 1.2 per match to opponents.
Stockport County have played 19 matches this season in the National League. The Hatters scored an average of 1.8 goals per match while conceding 1.1 goals per fixture. In spite of their excellent goals scored and conceded per fixture, they do play in the National League against weaker competition.
Moyes could be without goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. The shot-stopper is struggling with a thigh injury. The issue occurred just before the Everton match and Fabianski is a doubt to appear on Monday night. Back-up Darren Randolph will play in Fabianski’s place.
Ryan Fredericks is ruled out of the match after testing positive for COVID-19. There is no return date for the defender. Fellow defender Arthur Masuaku is ruled out with a knee injury.
West Ham should claim a low-scoring victory on Monday when these teams face off at Edgeley Park. The Hammers have too many weapons to call upon for the match. Moyes’ side will claim a victory against Newport County and move on to the fourth round of the tournament.
The match should end with under 2.5 goals scored as Stockport County put in a creditable performance versus West Ham at home.