West Ham drew with Liverpool at Anfield earlier this evening, meaning that the two sides will require a replay to decide who'll progress into Round Five of this year's FA Cup competition. That fixture will be played on either Tuesday 9 February, or the day afterwards, Wednesday the 10th.
This means that Southampton's game against the Hammers has to be brought forward to accomodate both fixtures.
Details on rearrangement
The game was originally meant to be played on Monday 8 February, kicking off at 8pm, but the game is now scheduled for Saturday 6 February - next weekend, with a kick-off time of 5:30pm at St. Mary's Stadium, as the game is due to be shown live on Sky Sports. This is sure to ruin many supporters' plans for the game itself, as thousands would have already bought tickets, but this is just one of the many pitfalls that can occur with fixture re-scheduling in football.
Saints slight favourites to prevail - giving Hammers' situation
Many would say that West Ham going to a replay with Liverpool, will favour the Saints as they may have one eye on the FA Cup which will come the following midweek as they are already in a strong position in the Premier League and may see the Cup competition as a real opportunity to secure some silverware this season. They will also have faced four matches in two weeks, which is something that Slaven Bilic will be weary of, as his squad isn't particularly big - and they've been unlucky with injuries and suspensions in recent months.
Second time the pair have met this season
This fixture is the second time in the space of a month that the pair will meet in the Premier League, following the game at the Boleyn Ground at the end of December. West Ham came out on top with a 2-1 home victory last time out, and the Saints will be eager to avenge their disappointing defeat - against a team that have been impressive this term, with only a few points separating the two in varying league positions before kick-off.