West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton. The FA Cup Fifth Round.
The HawthornsAttendance17,600.
Saturday 17 February 2018 15:03, UK
West Brom's preparations for this weekend's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Southampton have been overshadowed by "an incident" during the club's training trip to Spain this week.
The Baggies have announced they are investigating after four senior players broke a curfew imposed on them - and Albion boss Alan Pardew admitted in his pre-match press conference the episode is "not ideal".
The quartet - later revealed as Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill - will be "subject to the full rigours of our internal disciplinary procedures" but they will be available for selection against the Saints, although Livermore is injured.
It has been a turbulent week for West Brom - who are bottom of the Premier League and seven points adrift of safety - with chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman sacked the day after the 3-0 defeat by Chelsea.
Pardew will demand a response from his players after his attempts at boosting morale in Barcelona back-fired, but he insists he is not regretting his decision to replace Tony Pulis as manager in November.
"No regrets [about taking the job] because it's a great club," he said. "It's been a tough week for us, for me, and for the fans. It will be a tough game for Southampton because we're in the mood for a game I can tell you."
Pardew was in charge of the Saints between July 2009 and August 2010, but was humbled on home soil by his former employers when they ran out 3-2 winners at The Hawthorns earlier this month.
Boss Mauricio Pellegrino believes Southampton must go all out for victory this weekend, even though Premier League survival remains the clear overall priority.
"We have to understand now when you've got this possibility, the cup is an amazing thing," said Pellegrino.
"In the recent two weeks we've had a game against them, but I imagine both teams will try to adjust to try to improve. And when you've got good knowledge about the opponent it will be really tight.
"We want to move forward to the next round. Also it can help us to improve as a team, to introduce some players that didn't play too much in the recent game. It can help us to believe more in our improvements since January.
"For those aspects it will be important to play seriously, try to win the game, try to do our best, and both teams have got nothing to lose.
"You have to go forward because it's like a final. We've got this possibility and it's amazing."
West Brom may hand Egypt international Ali Gabr his first-team debut against Southampton after he joined on loan in January.
The 29-year-old has secured a work permit in time, but forward Daniel Sturridge is out injured with a hamstring problem.
Hal Robson-Kanu is a doubt with a hamstring injury, while Sturridge joins Nacer Chadli (thigh), Livermore (hamstring) and James Morrison (Achilles) on the sidelines.
Saints striker Shane Long will face a late fitness test after he picked up a leg problem in training making him a doubt to feature at The Hawthorns, so Manolo Gabbiadini could come into Pellegrino's reckoning to start.
Mario Lemina has recovered from dizzy spells and will be available for selection.
The last three times these sides have met in the FA Cup the tie has gone to a replay, with Southampton progressing on the last two occasions.
Southampton have won their last three meetings with West Brom in all competitions, including a 3-2 win at The Hawthorns earlier this month.
The last time a Premier League team won away against another Premier League team twice in the same calendar month was Man City at Swansea in September 2016.
The Saints have not reached the FA Cup quarter-finals since the 2004-05 campaign, losing each of their last four fifth-round ties.
West Brom have lost their last three games in a row, conceding exactly three goals in each game, this after winning three of the previous four (D1).
Jay Rodriguez has scored seven goals in his last 10 FA Cup appearances.
Who wants this game less? Which line-up will they play? The win West Brom got at Exeter, when Jay Rodriguez and Salomon Rondon scored, put them on a nice little run which made you think they could get out of the relegation mix.
I think West Brom will be marginally more positive as they're at home and I'm going for Rodriguez to score against his old club in a tetchy affair.
Charlie predicts: 1-0 and Rodriguez to score first (25/1 with Sky Bet)
